In the lair of Serpents
by darkwyvernthird
Summary: Remember the heartbreak of the end of season three? Well, maybe that didn't need to happen. This story is an alternative that takes place after season three, episode six. Focusing in on Weiss as the main character, I try as much as possible to keep all characters as ones already established in the RWBY universe, but a few exceptions are made.
1. Chapter 1

Weiss Schnee sighed, and slumped forward a bit. She glanced lazily at the timepiece installed on the wooden desk, noting there were only a few minutes left in class. She almost slumped forward even more, then quickly corrected herself. It wouldn't do to have people see her not paying attention in class. She _was_ the perfect student, after all. She sat up straight, tilted her chin up, and fought hard to listen through the haze of boredom that threatened to engulf her. It wasn't that she wasn't interested… okay, maybe a little, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more important to do than listen to Port's lectures. As if on cue, the bell rang. Port looked about, confused as he always was. Weiss suspected he payed no attention to the time, or if he did, simply did not care. But no matter. It was time to move to more important matters. She had a theory as to why Yang had been arrested.

Weiss rose quickly from her seat and strode purposefully across the clamoring room, shoes clicking on the hardwood floor. On her way through the room, she shoved passed students talking to their friends and teammates. Several levels her angry looks, eyes flashing, but she leveled a glare back at them cold enough to freeze a candle, and most hurriedly looked down, muttering out of the side of their mouths. Weiss didn't care. She had work to get done, and wasn't going to let any of these imbeciles get in her way. Pushing through the door, and into the wide halls of Beacon Academy, she stopped for a moment to admire the myriad of students milling about the hall, but quickly regained control of herself. She could not let anything stop her. She glanced quickly at her scroll to make sure that she had time. Then, hair streaming behind her head, she charged down the hallway, glaring at any student foolish enough to impede her. Shouldering open the huge doors at the end of the hall, she took no time to admire the sprawling scene before her. Students of the academy clustered at every corner of the vast and beautiful courtyards, filled with stunning plants of all shapes and sizes. She instead strode moodily to a corner of the mess that was out of sight. It was a small, rather run down area of the academy, which was probably why people never went there. About 3 square yards of concrete, there was an old wooden bench next to a plant that had probably once been magnificent, but was not long dead. Weiss sat down heavily on the bench, crossed one leg on her knee, and furtively glanced about before pulling out her scroll.

Weiss had noticed earlier a strange piece of code in a message that was sent by Pyrrha shortly after she was seen going into the basement with Ozpin. Weiss had no idea what that had been about. Staring intently now at the holographic screen on the scroll, fingers furiously tapping different buttons, she worked to trace the strange code to it's source. After trying a couple different ways, and getting nowhere, she sighed moodily, wrenched her eyes off the screen, and began to stand up, one hand on her hip, and then looked down at the glaring screen, and fell back down onto the bench in shock. The screen was now filled with what looked like a black chess piece.

Eyes wide, with one hand trembling by her side, she probed the image mentally. She knew she had no program like this on the scroll. Weiss tried to reason with herself. Evidently, this was the work of the strange code that she had noticed with Pyrrha's message. Hesitantly, she tried to open up the code. Protected. The hand by her side came up to slap herself in the face. Of course it was protected. Who would send a virus, and she of course had to assume it was such, and allow it to be tampered with? This evidently was going to be a long process. Sighing heavily and slumping a bit, she began her task...

...And looked up, startled, when she heard the voice of her teammate, Ruby, shouting her name. Weiss let out a short grunt and pounded the bench with her fist in frustration. She could hear Ruby's jaunty footsteps rounding the corner. She chuckled. In her head, she could picture the short little girl prancing down the hallway, cloak streaming behind her back. But now she heard another set of footsteps, more quiet.

"Weiss, where are you? We were supposed to meet an hour ago" The somber voice of Blake cried out. Weiss hurriedly shoved the scroll back into her pocket. It would not do to get her teammates involved in this, capable as they were.

Blake and Ruby rounded the corner. They stopped. Ruby stood, hands moving, swaying slightly, evidently trying to figure out what to say, and failing. Blake stood still, eyes narrowing, and exclaimed

"Where have you been? Why are you so late?"

Weiss stood up, brushed an imaginary bit of dust off the front of her skirt, tilted her chin up, rolled her eyes, and said haughtily "I doubt _you_ made it on time to the meeting, either", and smiled slightly.

Blake took a small step back, paling slightly, and looked down at her feet.

"Um.. How did you...", she mumbled, while Ruby leaned forward and laughed a bit, then covering her mouth with one hand.

Blake paled further, but still remained indignant.

"Well, _you_ are even later. What were you even doing out here? I've never seen this place before," she added, glancing around, one hand straying towards the hilt of Gambol Shroud before hastily moving it back.

Weiss looked down her nose at Blake, and spoke.

"That's for me to know and you to wonder. Now, _if_ you would excuse me." Weiss began to stride confidently forward, brushing past Ruby and Blake without a second glance.

Ruby reached out a hand and stumbled forward a bit, shouting "Weiss, where are you going?!" Regaining her balance, she clasped her hands in front of her and looked down, one foot swinging. "We're supposed to be friends".

Weiss stopped, Without turning around, she tilted her head slightly to one side, leaned on one leg, and said

"If you must know, I just want a little peace and quiet. You two can talk a soul to death, with all your whining about Yang."

Ruby looked hurt, and began to shuffle her feet. Blake stepped forward and looked up angrily. Fire flashed in her eyes, and she said firmly

"You know Yang as well as we do. You _know_ she wouldn't do something like that! How dare you".

Weiss spun around on her feet, allowing a trace of anger to show on her face. She exclaimed

"She's a criminal, Blake! You saw what she did to Mercury!". Weiss clenched one hand into a fist. "Furthermore, it was _Atlas_ that arrested her. I'm sure that they made no mistake." Weiss placed one hand on her hip. Truth be told, she was much less confident that there was no mistake than she would have them think. But she needed to get Blake and Ruby away from her, and the only way she could do that was to anger them.

Blake shouted angrily "How could you! She was your teammate! You… You monster!" and stormed off, pushing passed Weiss, hands fisted at her sides, every muscle in her body aching for a fight. Ruby called out "Wait, we're all friends right? Can't we talk this out?!"

"No." Came the indignant reply from Blake's receding figure. Ruby looked down abashedly. She looked so impossibly innocent that Weiss had to resist the sudden urge to place a hand on her shoulder and comfort her.

"Well?" Weiss said instead, raising one eyebrow. "Wouldn't want to keep your _friend_ waiting, now would you?", and her lips curled into a sneer.

Ruby scampered off, cape streaming behind her, tears splattering the ground as her feet slammed on the pavement. Weiss was ashamed, and it took all of her self control not to reach out and apologize. Instead, she turned back towards the bench and plopped down heavily. The sky was beginning to darken, and she could see rain clouds on the horizon. Fitting, she supposed. Pulling out her scroll halfheartedly now, she began glumly to resume her infiltration process. She didn't expect anything, pessimistic mood she was in, until she heard a beep. She looked down in surprise to confirm what she thought. She was in.


	2. Chapter 2

Weiss scrolled through the code presented on the scroll's surface, her heart going into her throat more and more as she interpreted the various different functions of the program. She could identify a host of different malicious functions within the program. For one, it was sending information siphoned off of the host devices to a device labeled 'source'. She could only assume it was the scroll of the programmer. But there was more to the program than that. She could tell that at one point, the program had been used to rig the Vitals Tournament. Intriguing. But that was irrelevant at the moment. It looked like she was going to be staying here a bit longer.

Weiss stood up and stretched, arching her back, walked in a small circle around the cement corner before sitting down again. Ozpin would need to know about the program, and quickly. Fingers working furiously on her scroll, she composed a short explanation of what the program was and how she accessed it, and was about to send it when inspiration struck. Maybe she could use this program to her advantage. Deleting the message to Ozpin, she began to get to work on her new plan. It was risky, that was for sure. She could only hope that it would work out.

The moon was setting when Weiss arrived at her team's dorm hall. Slowly, dreading the inevitable confrontation when she entered their room, she trudged down the hall, boots ringing as they hit the floor. When she arrived at the door to her room, she sighed heavily. Weiss raised her hand to the doorknob, but hesitated to turn it. Sighing again, Weiss placed her hand on the cold metal of the doorknob and turned it slowly, dragging the door outward and then entering the room.

Weiss looked quickly around the room. Blake was sitting in a corner of the room, staring at an old, worn book. Ruby sat on her bed, feet swinging from the edge. They both heard the door open, and looked up quickly. Blake stood up in a flash, and pointed a finger at Weiss.

"You!" She shouted. "Just _what_ do you think you were doing out there!". Blake began walking forward, voice loud. "Did you _see_ what you did to Ruby? Did you?! The girl was crying! We're your _friends_ , Weiss! Just tell us what's going on!" Ruby had rolled onto her bed and was pressing her face into her pillows.

Weiss rolled her eyes. This was exactly what she had anticipated. Placing on hand on her hip, she said calmly " _I_ decided that our arrangement had to be postponed so I could attend to more pressing matters."

Blake stopped walking forward. "You could have told us!" she said, only marginally quieter than before. "And _what_ was so much more important? Sitting in that corner?" She asked angrily, her voice becoming incredulous. Weiss threw her head back, and was about to speak when they all heard a soft rapping on the hardwood door. Weiss looked to Blake, and Blake shot her a look that said _you_ get it. So Weiss spun on her heel and walked moodily towards the door, and threw it open.

Pyrrha stood in the doorway, eyes wide, with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Well" she began in a hesitant tone "Excuse me, but it _is_ late at night, and _some_ of us are trying to sleep. So, _if_ you three wouldn't mind keeping it down, that would be great. Thank you."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Well, _excuse_ us for having important matters to discuss. Your sleep, unfortunately, will have to wait.", she said angrily. Ruby, from where she was on the bed, chimed in.

"Well, actually, uh, it's… you see… not like that, uh, well, Blake and Weiss were arguing, and, uh.."

Blake interrupted her and said, in a more calm tone than before. "It's nothing for you to worry about. Ignore it", and Weiss added "This is a personal matter. Keep _your_ hands out of it."

Pyrrha eyes narrowed. "That may be" she said, "but I'm sure you understand that other students are in this academy, and they do matter. So you can have your argument, but please, keep it quiet." Blake look enraged and was about to speak when Weiss hurriedly interrupted her.

"Of course." she said. "We simply got a bit… carried away. Please, accept our sincerest apologies," casting a glare at Blake as if to say "shut your mouth".

"What she said," Ruby chimed in from the bed, a little bit of a giggle in her voice.

Blake was still fuming, but said nothing, instead choosing to glare at the back of Weiss's head. Pyrrha looked somewhat mollified. Moving her hands to her sides, she said "Well, of course. But please, try to keep it down." Pyrrha spun around and walked out of the room, back straight.

Walking slowly behind her, Weiss methodically closed the door, then turned to face the room. Tilting her head, she said menacingly "Now, _if_ you would choose to stop interrogating me, perhaps we won't be in this situation again. Understood?" Blake stood still, eyes closed, breathing deeply, likely trying to prevent an outburst of anger. After a moment, she said, with an air of forced calm, "I need some time alone. I'll be back in a bit," and without waiting for a response stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Ruby stared at the door, then addressed Weiss. "Why is she so angry? She's usually a lot more calm." Rolling over on her bed, she added "and you, too. You all seem kinda mad." Weiss sighed, about to rebuff what she assumed was concern for her, when she realized that wasn't what Ruby meant at all. She was simply curious. So instead she walked over to Ruby's bed, and said matter-of-factly "Truth be told, I think it's Yang. She was our teammate, and we're not exactly used to her not being around." Her face softened.

"She'll get over it. We all will. Until then, I suppose you'll have to tolerate us." Ruby's face fell, and she said simply "oh", before rolling back over. Weiss turned around, and was about to settle in for the night, when Ruby spoke up again. "I hope she'll be okay," Ruby said, her voice small. "I mean, I hope we all will. Yang's been in tough situations before." She added, but her voice was small.

Weiss woke up to a beeping noise beside her. Quickly grabbing her scroll, she noticed that there was a message. This could only mean one thing. Still in the dark, with trembling fingers, she read the message. It was unsigned, and said simply 'Tommorow night. Old abandoned dust warehouse. Be there." Weiss didn't know whether to jump for joy or turn over and cry. The message meant her plan had worked. The next step was to follow the instructions. Tomorrow night her life got a whole lot more interesting… possibly a lot more dangerous. Sighing quietly, she turned over in bed, deleting any trace of the message from her scroll, then powering it off. Acting like everything was normal tomorrow was going to be impossible.


	3. Chapter 3

Just as predicted, the next day _was_ impossible. Just from the beginning of the day, Weiss was practically jumping with excitement. Not that she would ever do that, of course. But still. Blake still seemed a little mad when they all woke up, but Weiss shrugged it off. She had far more pressing matters to attend to. The day of classes went relatively without incident. Port's class was as monotonous as ever, and Weiss struggled to remain awake throughout. There was only one incident, during Oobleck's class.

"Ms. Schnee!" he had shouted, zooming over to where she sat. Head whipping up, startled, she exclaimed, "Yes, Professor?" with perhaps a little too much zeal. After all, she had no idea why he was calling her.

Oobleck tapped her desk. "Perhaps you would like to answer the question I posed to you?" Weiss immediately responded "Of course, sir." While desperately racking her brain for any hint of what he had asked. She found none. She folded her hands together on her desk.

"I - I didn't hear the question, sir." she said softly, looking mortified, while on the inside she was giving herself a mental beating. How could she explain that one to Ruby and Blake? This was going to be a problem.

Ruby sniggered as they walked out of class, pushing through the crowds of students. "Weiss got something wrong!" she teased, speaking in a singsong voice. "Guess the perfect heiress isn't perfect after all" she added, bouncing a little on her feet. Surprisingly, it was Blake that responded. "Leave her alone, Ruby. We're all having a little trouble," she told Ruby sternly.

Weiss cast Blake a quizzical glance, and Blake stopped, turning to face Ruby and Weiss. "Although it _was_ quite out of character, Weiss." she added.

Ruby and Weiss stopped, and Weiss was about to reply when Jaune ran straight into Blake. Looking disoriented, Jaune began hesitantly to speak, but Blake instantly glared at him. Weiss placed one hand on her hip, not wanting to suffer an interruption from the imbecile, and glared at him as well. Jaune raised his hands in a placating gesture and said "Okay. Okay. I get it - you don't want me. I'll just leave now," and ran off. Weiss flung her hair back, and addressed Blake.

"I'm not perfect. Isn't that right, Ruby?" Ruby began to circle her hands around each other, and replied "Yeah, but, it isn't like you to admit that. I mean, you are the Ice Queen and uh…" Ruby covered her mouth with one hand. Blake stood leaning on one hip, looking vastly amused. Weiss, tilted her head and glared at Blake. "What are _you_ looking at?" She said angrily. Blakes face turned slightly red. "Nothing!" She said quickly. Ruby laughed. Weiss was actually enjoying herself, in the moment.

People in the crowd were giving them dirty looks, and Weiss judged it was time to move along. Ruby had shuffled over to where Blake was standing and was whispering something into her ear, glancing furtively at Weiss. Blake covered her mouth with her hands, presumably to hide a smile. Weiss cast them a glare.

" _If_ you two are done whispering like over-excited schoolgirls, _maybe_ we could actually walk to where we are going?" she asked. Without waiting for a response, she stalked towards the dorm building, back straight.

The library was nearly empty, and the sky was dark outside. Weiss was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, hands clasped neatly together and resting on a round, hardwood table with a chair on each side. Occupying the other was Pyrrha. Her hands were resting in her lap. Pyrrha leaned forward slightly. She began to speak.

"This is your meeting." Pyrrha began. "So, what is it you want?" She placed one hand on the table. Weiss wrung her hands together, and began to speak.

"Well, I was just worried about you." She said, leaning back a bit her chair. Pyrrha's eyes widened a bit. "Worried about me?" she repeated, by the look on her face confused. Weiss rolled her eyes. "Is there an echo in here?" she said sarcastically, then adopted a more somber tone. "I am worried about you. Whatever you did underground with Ozpin-" Pyrrha opened her mouth to protest at this point, but Weiss cut her off. "Don't bother denying it. There are security cameras that provide feeds of the elevators. I hacked into them. Look, I'll show you" she said, pulling out her scroll before she realized her mistake.

As Pyrrha began to look worried, Weiss hurriedly held up one hand. "Wait!" she said, voice cracking a bit. "I didn't have any malicious intent! Here, you can look and make sure," and Weiss extended her arm, scroll in hand, but Pyrrha stopped her. "No need for that" she said cautiously. "I believe you." she said slowly, lowering her hand. Weiss, who had leaned forward during the whole event, leaned back slowly. She tilted her head back and threw her hair to one side of her head. She addressed Pyrrha. "So. What _was_ it that happened there."

Pyrrha, quite obviously uncomfortable, looked down at the patterns in the woodwork of the table. "That is classified, I'm afraid." She said in a monotone. She looked up "I'd love to tell you," she said, and when Weiss raised an eyebrow incredulously, she added "No, really. It's just… I'm not sure you would believe me." Weiss leaned forward again, and looked into Pyrrha's eyes. Grasping one of the warrior's hands in her own, she said softly "You can trust me with this. I promise." Pyrrha was silent for a long moment, staring back. Then, she broke contact with Weiss. She said, now in a somber tone "I'm sorry. I cannot. It was .. nice to talk to you." Pyrrha shoved back her chair and stood up, then strode quickly to the exit, not stopping to listen to any of Weiss's pleas for her to come back.

Weiss cursed under her breath, and slumped in her chair. But only for a second. She recognized that she had a facade to continue to maintain. She had already made one careless mistake today, and was determined not to make another. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and exited the library.

Weiss was pacing irritably around her room, a storm of thoughts clouding her mind, when she heard the mechanisms of the door working. Hastily, she sat down on her bed and pulled out a notebook she kept on a little table beside her bed. Crossing one leg over the other, she attempted to look casual as Ruby entered the room, all the same cursing quietly. Stress was definitely getting to her.

Ruby looked around the room, before her gaze settled on Weiss. "Oh." she said. "You're here. Uh, hi?" she said uncertainly. Weiss looked up from her book. Ruby stood still, one hand swinging at her side. The door was wide open behind her, revealing the stark hallway. Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Close the door." she said curtly to Ruby. Ruby spun around and closed it, then spun back around her. There was a slight anger in her face. "There's no need to get testy." she said, walking towards her bed before plopping down on it, heaving a sigh as she did so. Weiss said nothing, and returned her eyes to the book. Ruby, being in the bunk above Weiss's, stuck her head over the edge. Weiss looked up. "That does _not_ look safe." she said to Ruby, who smiled and replied "Oh, come on! What could happen! How was your day?" Weiss looked down and picked at one of her fingernails.

She said to Ruby "The same as every other day. Classes, unwanted attention, the usual. What did you expect?" She looked up moodily. Ruby giggled a bit. "I knew you would say that. But what's new?" she replied, pushing herself a bit further off the bed. Weiss told her "Not much. Just hoping for - oh, this is ridiculous. Get down here or I'm done talking to you." She folded her arms across her chest. Ruby jumped off of her bed and sat down on Weiss's, ruffling the blankets a little bit. Weiss spoke again. "As I was saying, I've been hoping for news on Yang. I want to know _why_ she attacked Mercury in the arena."

"Don't we all." Ruby and Weiss looked up, surprised. Blake stood in the doorway, one

hand on her hip. "but that does us no good." Blake walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Weiss could see her finger click the lock. Blake stopped in front of where Weiss and Ruby were sitting. Blake spoke again. "I think we should investigate. Weiss, you should be able to locate where she's held through your connections to Atlas. We can speak to her personally."

Weiss's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Ruby stood and pumped a fist in the air. "That sounds awesome!" she exclaimed, and began to mutter excitedly to herself. Weiss did not deign to listen to what she said. She instead stood up and pointed one finger at Blake's chest. Rage coursed through her head.

"What you're suggesting." she began, eyes narrowing. "Would make me lose all of my family's support for me. I might be disowned. Either way, the results will be catastrophic. You cannot seriously expect me to agree to a plan that involves _that_." Ruby came over. "Why?" she asked, presumably not understanding the situation. Weiss whirled to face her. "Because," she said intoning the word clearly and sharply, "that kind of action would be considered an act of aggression. If I were to do this, I would be considered an enemy of Atlas. My family. You all would." She began to walk towards Ruby, one hand in a fist by her side.

Ruby looked hurt. "That's not what I meant." she said. "Why can't you just, well, get it without them knowing?" Weiss smirked in open amusement. "Bypass Atlas security? Impossible." She put one hand on her hip. "There are hundreds of experts who work to prevent _just_ such an incursion." Weiss's expression softened, and she put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "It was a good idea." she said comfortingly."But impossible, I'm afraid." She lifted her hand and turned away.

Blake walked over to Ruby. "We don't really need those files, you know. We can just sneak into the prison and find her. _Without_ the Ice Queen," she told her, casting a withering glance at Weiss. Weiss sniffed. "You are welcome to embrace this mad scheme. I must confess, I am curious as to what Yang will say. Do tell." Weiss sat down carefully on her bed. "Until then." she continued, "We will all need sleep."

Weiss carefully opened her eyes, glancing about to make sure that none of her teammates were awake. Seeing none, she stood up. She dressed quietly and quickly, strapping Myrtenaster to her waist. She walked slowly to the door, and laid her hand on the doorknob. Before she exited, she pulled in her scroll and punched in a few commands.

The command _should_ replace the camera footage in the hallways with a loop of what was there before for 15 minutes. Weiss doubted it would pass close scrutiny, but at least in would hide who was leaving. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door.

Weiss resisted the urge to look and see if anyone was watching. They would know anyway, and that would make her look suspicious. She strode purposefully down the silent hallways of Beacon Academy, her boots echoing when they hit the floor. Shouldering open the huge doors to Vale, Weiss stopped to examine the panorama before her. Unlike the morning yesterday, the luscious courtyard was rather ominous. Wind blew through the ranks of plants. the darkness clouded their shapes, making them look like the monsters of some child's dreams.

The dreary atmosphere gave Weiss a rather somber feeling, settling in her stomach. She raised her chin. She had work to get done. Placing her hand on Myrtenaster hilt, she walked quickly forward.

Weiss walked down a long, decrepit street in the abandoned part of Vale. The houses here were decaying, nothing like the opulent affairs in the richer districts she had crossed to reach here. Dust drifted through the musty, dark air. The moon in the sky above cast it's long shadow over the empty streets. Previously, there had always been a couple of people in the streets, illuminated by the lamps that stood tall over them. Here, there was no one. Gripping Myrtenaster tighter, Weiss began to walk cautiously forward, when a voice rung out from behind her.

"Well, what have we here?" Weiss spun on her heel to see a group of what looked to be thugs approaching, carrying various things she supposed could be considered weaponry. If one stretched their imagination. Weiss sighed audibly. "I suggest that you turn around and leave, if you value your life." The lead thief laughed, slapping his thigh. "We got a feisty one!" His companion's laughed, and the leader pulled out a knife. "Now, you listen here." He said, his voice getting serious. "Give us all your money, and that fancy toadsticker you got, and we let you go." Weiss opted for a curious look. She drew Myrtenaster out, but held it downwards, as if in surrender. "I was not aware that violent criminal thieves operated in Vale. When did you start?" She leaned forward, as if interested.

One of the thugs scratched his back. "This one's pretty." He said, his words slurred. Weiss assumed that he was drunk. "Let's keep her around for a while." He stumbled forward. Weiss decided that she had let this go on for long enough. Taking a step forward, she lifted Myrtenaster and placed a glyph behind her, enabling her to dash forward, impaling the leader. The others took a step back, presumably afraid, until one shouted "Let's get her!" A thug dashed at her from either side, and the third pulled out a spiked piece of wood.

Quickly placing another glyph beneath her feet, she leaped into the air, and watched as the two criminals crashed into each other. The girl landed behind the third thief, who spun around and clumsily cleaved his club through the air. Flicking her wrist up to deflect the blow with Myrtenaster, she punched the man in the gut. He doubled over in pain, and Weiss finished him by stabbing him through his neck. One of the thieves on the ground had got up and was beginning to run down the street.

Weiss walked over to the fallen knife of the leader. Picking it up, she flung the weapon at the retreating form of the runner. She heard the thug scream as it hit, cut short by the fall to the pavement of his body. Weiss turned slowly to the last thief, and nodded in the direction of the corpse. "Want to end up like him?" she said coldly. The thief, glancing around nervously, said "N-n-no."

Weiss sighed. The cowardly display was not helping with her decision. Halfheartedly, Weiss raised Myrtenaster. The thug shied back in fear. Really, she had no wish to kill a helpless man. He _was_ worthless, a burden to their society, after all. But he was another person, with a life.

The thief started to gain a bit of courage. Seeing Weiss hesitate, he took it as a sign that

he would be allowed to live. Hope began to spark in his eyes. Weiss placed one foot forward, then put it back. She shook her head, then began to address the would-be robber. "Look. If I hear that you have said _a word_ about this, and I mean _one_ word, I will - " she was cut off as suddenly, a bright flare lit up to old street. The man flew forward, landing in a twisted heap on the concrete. Scorch marks decorated his back. Weiss moved a foot as if to walk over, then stiffened her back and stopped. He had it coming. Turning away from the scene, she strode towards her destination.

Shouldering open the massive doors to the warehouse, Weiss was hit with a wave of dust clouding the air. She coughed, waving her hand in front of her. Narrowing her eyes, she peered into the dark, abandoned halls of the warehouse. Old crates, many marked with the Schnee symbol, were scattered throughout the cavernous room. Metal bars formed an intricate latticework of walkways and support structures on the impossibly high ceiling. The place was entirely empty.

Weiss began to stride forward, careful to hide her nerves. Her back was straight, her chin up. Her hand rested casually on her hip. As she walked, her footsteps echoed across the vacant expanses. The whole place was lent an ominous feeling from the moonlight streaming from the open windows and onto certain sections of the warehouse, in a stark contrast to the surrounding darkness. Stepping into one such patch, Weiss stopped walking.

"Come out. We _both_ know you're here, and I did not come here for nothing." Weiss said it with as much confidence as she could muster. After all, she _was_ here under the pretense of a meeting.

"Do not turn around." The voice came, predictably, from behind her. Weiss stood up a little straighter. The voice was low, threatening, and yet oddly melodious. Listening to it's cadence, Weiss decided that it would be best to adopt a more submissive posture, and thus clasped her hands in front of her.

"Whatever you say." Weiss fought to keep any quaver of nervousness from her voice. That would ruin her illusion.

The voice spoke again, and this time in a more friendly tone, though of course _friendly_ was relative.

"Why do you come here. _You_ requested this meeting, threatening to reveal my hacking efforts, I believe. Tell me, why should I not kill you now?" Weiss heard footsteps behind her, and the tinkling of glass.

"I want to join you." Weiss gulped, but hid it well. Maybe coming here had been a mistake, she thought. She felt a drop of sweat on her brow.

"Why?" The footsteps had stopped. Weiss thought about this for a few seconds, then responded with as much bravado as she could muster.

"I want to be on the winning side." She threw her hair back with a movement of her head. "I see that you are winning this war, and want to help you."

The footsteps began again. "An understandable motive. Tell me, do you feel _no_ regret for abandoning you friends? Who _count_ on you, _trust_ you?" Weiss felt more sweat on her face, and was suddenly glad that the figure behind her had no view of it.

"None. I do what is best for me." Her voice wavered a bit as she said it, and she mentally berated herself for the slip-up. It would not happen again

The person behind her drew closer. She began to speak again.

"You will have to prove yourself worthy. Using the evidence you sent to me, incriminate Emerald and Mercury, my agents. I expect it done in three days or less. Report to me after the job is done. If you fail, or if you betray me, I will kill you."

Weiss was confused. Forgetting for a moment who she was talking to, she inquired " If I may be so bold as to ask, why do you want your agents in prison?"

The pacing behind her stopped, and Weiss realized she had made a mistake. "It is not your place to question me." the person behind her said coldly.

"Of course." One of Weiss's eyelids began to twitch as the reality of the situation sunk in. She had work to be done. Thankfully, she was not being asked to harm her friends. Yet. She wondered what she would do when that day came.

"Oh, and one more thing." The voice behind her addressed her almost teasingly, raising Weiss from her semi-stupor. Weiss felt a hand on her shoulder, cold as ice. The voice dropped to a low whisper.

"Inform no one, including my agents, that you are working for me. You are mine. Mine alone." At this, Weiss felt the grip tighten on her shoulder. She shuddered. The woman leaned down, and Weiss could feel her breath in her ear. "Understood?" the voice asked, in a tone that would kill those of lesser strength.

"Crystal clear." Weiss tried not to hate herself too much as she said it.


	4. Chapter 4

As she began to rise from her bed that morning, Weiss listed to herself for the third time the reasons that she would not have been caught. She had hid the evidence of the fight(she burned the bodies). She had checked the security camera footage, and indeed, the section where she left was cut out. Her plan had worked perfectly. But _that_ was never in question. Ruby looked extremely happy about something that morning, but Weiss could not fathom what it could be.

"We can see Yang today!" Rube exclaimed, leaping from her bed and raising her hands and jumping in the air. Blake, from where she was reading her ever-present book, said dryly "I believe today is when we _plan_ how to see Yang. Changed your mind, Ice Queen?" This last was addressed to Weiss, who rolled her eyes.

"What do _you_ think? Just because it's been a night doesn't mean that I want part in your idiot schemes. Talk to someone else." Weiss climbed swiftly out of her bed and began to dress herself for the day. Sighing, Blake did the same.

"Ruby, we can discuss this later today. _Without_ Weiss." Blake gave Weiss a pointed look. Weiss raised her chin and sniffed. "Whatever you want." Ruby looked down.

"Don't be so rude. Both of you." She seemed determined to make sure that everyone got along. "Let's make up, okay?" She looked up at this, and smiled as if it would happen. For some reason this filled Weiss with sadness. She _wanted_ their team to work together. But right now, it was impossible. And she said so, before stalking out the door.

It was Oobleck's class. Weiss had to admit, she was having trouble paying attention. She had more important things to worry about. Right now, she was trying to find a way to incriminate Emerald and Mercury without seeming like she was just trying to save her friend. She had an idea, but she needed to be sure. She had sent word via the program that she needed Emeralds semblance to be put into the records. Weiss was hesitant to try the patience of her enemy, but she needed something else. The information she had just would not do.

Pinching herself on one arm, she returned her attention to the class. Oobleck was ranting about the foundation of the kingdoms of Remnant. Today, he was discussing Atlas. Perfect. Thanks to her upbringing, Weiss already knew all of this. She leaned back, inspecting her nails. She had just done them this morning, and knew they were immaculate, but had nothing else to do. After all, she knew the content. As she was picking at her nails, she heard the whine of the announcement system starting. She looked up, startled. The use of the system was rare, after all.

"Would Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Blake Belladona please report to professor Ozpin's office immediately. That is all. " Glynda's voice rang out over the loudspeaker. Weiss glanced at Ruby, confused, who shrugged, and stood up. Blake was in another class, and so Weiss had no idea what she thought. But she and Ruby walked out of the classroom, discussing in lowered tones what they thought this was about. Weiss had her own theories, though.

Blake, Ruby, and Weiss stood in front of Ozpin's desk. Ruby stared at the ground, shuffling her feet. Blake looked vaguely irritated. Weiss did her best to appear unconcerned. Obviously, this had nothing to do with her hacking the cameras. If that was the case, Ruby and Blake would most likely not be here. So she held her head high, hands clasped behind her back.

It was Blake who spoke first. She allowed a trace of anger to show in her eyes, and spoke with an edge to her voice.

"If I may inquire, sir, _what_ is it that you want?" Ozpin calmly sipped from his ever-present cup. "Please, there is no need for unpleasantry." He spoke in a somewhat amused tone. "I have good news for you."

This shut Blake up, and Weiss heaved a silent sigh of relief. She leaned forward a bit. "What is it?" she asked, unable to conceal eagerness. Ruby looked up. Ozpin told them "the administration for the Vitals tournament has decided that because it was Yang that broke the regulations, not you three, you may elect another member of your team to fight in the tournament. No need to tell us who it is, just make sure that they are there for tonight's fight, if they are selected." Ozpin took another sip of his drink.

Ruby looked excited, and pumped a fist in the air in triumph. Blake said simply, "Why not?", and Weiss smiled. Ozpin spoke again. "Blake and Ruby, you may leave. Weiss, I would like a word with you." And with that, the relief in Weiss's heart shattered.

Ruby skipped out of the room, oblivious to her teammate's worries. Blake said quietly "good luck" before she walked out of the room, following the absurdly happy Ruby.

Weiss turned to Ozpin with a wary expression on her face. Ozpin's face had not changed at all. He gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. "Please, take a seat."

Weiss sat, perched on the edge of the chair, hands clasped in her lap, doing her best to look innocent. She tried to ignore the ominous sound of the elevator doors closing behind her. As soon as they closed, Ozpin began to speak, his voice rich and a touch sarcastic.

"Pyrrha Nikos has informed me of some very interesting activities of yours. Care to explain?" Weiss didn't know whether to sigh with relief or resignation. Ozpin didn't know about her sneaking out. If he did, he would bring it up first. It was more important. Because of this, it was logical to assume this. However, she now had to explain this. With a start, Weiss realized that Ozpin was waiting for her.

"Uh, what exactly _were_ these activities?" Weiss did her best to look innocent, but the anxious cast to her voice gave her away. Ozpin watched Weiss calmly, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He began to speak in a slow, clear voice.

"Miss Nikos told me that you had hacked into the school's security systems. Well?" Weiss's eyes shifted uncomfortably around the room. "Well..., not exactly the system... Just the cameras." She clasped her hands on the desk, a forced smile on her lips. Ozpin sipped his drink again. Did he ever not have it? Weiss was not completely sure. She looked up, bashful as she realized Ozpin had spoken. She had not heard a word of it.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Now back in control of herself, Weiss pushed her hair behind her back, and hid her embarrassment. Ozpin raised his eyebrow. "Does that mean you are in less trouble?"

Weiss looked down, ashamed. "No, sir." She would now try to minimize the damage. That was, of course, a priority. "I will accept whatever punishment you see fit sir," she said, on leg swinging in a nervous fashion. Ozpin smiled. "I do not mean to punish you. If you tell me your motive. Otherwise, you can expect to be expelled from this school on charges of treason against our country." His gaze hardened.

Weiss gulped. She supposed it was an acceptable response. "Ah, well…" She fiddled with her hands in her lap. She considered her options, and realized that there was only one thing she could do.

In a hesitating tone, stopping every now and then to collect her thoughts. "So, you see, I've been working on a… project… to help us, with who's been behind a lot of our… problems. I posed as a… double agent… and managed to meet her." She stopped here, to see what Ozpin had to say.

Ozpin's eyes widened. He put his mug down on the table, which Weiss found more surprising than anything else.

"Give me a moment. I was not exactly expecting… this." Ozpin took a deep breath, Weiss edged forward on her chair, and leaned towards Ozpin, anxiously waiting as he mused.

Finally, he began to speak. "While I cannot deny the foolishness of this escapade, I am most impressed." He gestured with one hand. "Tell me, what does she look like. What is her name?" His voice was clipped, and his gaze intense. Weiss looked ashamed. "I-I didn't get anything like that. She hid herself well when I talked to her." She raised a hand, as if to ward of Ozpin's anger.

Ozpin took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose that was to be expected," he said in a voice that Weiss found surprisingly calm for the situation. "Do your teammates know about this?" Weiss supposed that she should be grateful. There was no more mention of getting expelled. Still, she did her best to look placating. So she responded, in a small voice.

"No. I thought it would look better, the less people who knew." Suddenly, she said "Don't tell them, please?" Her hand flew to her mouth at the inappropriate outburst, and Ozpin chuckled.

"Do not worry. I will allow you to go on with mission as you see fit. Providing," he added, raising a finger into the air, "You give me all information you find. I will meet with you tomorrow about this. You are dismissed."

Weiss walked towards the elevator that Ruby and Blake had disappeared into a while before. About halfway to the door, Ozpin spoke again. Weiss spun around, worried.

"Oh, and Weiss?" he smiled. "Don't hurt Pyrrha for this, okay? She was just doing what she thought was best." Weiss inclined her head. "I will do my best." she said.

Weiss walked out of the elevator, and saw immediately that Blake and Ruby had not bothered to wait for her. It was just as well, really, because she had received a message from the woman in the elevator. It was brief, and in essence just told her to do her job herself. Weiss didn't know what she was hoping for, anyway, it was just that she saw it was not logged and hoped that it might mean something.

Weiss squared her shoulders and tilted her chin slightly back. In public, she had no reason to display her anger. She walked back to class, pushing through the crowds of students milling about. She supposed they were on a break, or else were cutting class. She really had no idea why they were out. Nevertheless, they were in her way, and Weiss could not help but frown a little in anger. Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice Pyrrha running to where she stood, hair streaming behind her.

"Weiss, what happened?" Her accented voice cut through Weiss's thoughts, and she spun round, gaze tightening.

"That" she said, speaking slowly, "was unnecessary." Weiss placed one hand on her hip. Pyrrha raised a hand in the air, presumably a placating gesture.

"So, I take it he told you?" Pyrrha looked worried, and Weiss did remember Ozpin saying not to treat Pyrrha harshly, but right now she didn't care.

"I'm _so_ glad to know that I can trust you to keep a secret," she said to Pyrrha, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Next time I have sensitive information, you'll be the first to know." She could tell that her scathing words had hurt Pyrrha. Her lips twisted into a smirk. Weiss knew she was being cruel. Pyrrha was probably right to report her. But right now, there was so much Weiss had to deal with. Old habits were slipping in, and there was not much that she could do about.

Pyrrha, her eyes glistening, said "Can't we discuss this in private?", her voice soft and was due to the fact that Pyrrha cared for her friends, and thought that this was best. Weiss knew all of this, but in her anger, her mind turned to her task, none of it surfaced. So she cocked her head back. "In your dreams." she told Pyrrha, and stalked away, back stiff with disapproval. Pyrrha stood there, and just watched.


	5. Chapter 5

As the two walked down a corridor, one pulled the other down into an alcove. He smiled, and his teeth gleamed.

"So, what do you say? Think it could work?" He ran a hand smoothly through his silver hair.

The other one placed a hand on her hip, red eyes narrowing. "It _could_ work. But going up against Cinder like that might end disastrously." He winked at her. "Keep it a secret, okay?" She gave him a reluctant smile.

Weiss's hand knocked against the cold wood of the door. Her hand drifted down to her side. She was at the door of team JNPR's room because she wanted to apologize. She had an inappropriate outburst when she had talked to her, and she regretted it. Weiss may have been called the Ice Queen, but she prided herself on the fact that she was improving.

And, she confessed to herself, sighing quietly, she had other motives. Weiss had not given up on knowing what had gone on in the elevator, and she needed to be in Pyrrha's good graces if she wanted to get that information. She raised her hand to knock on the door again, as it swung open to reveal a smiling Nora in the doorway.

Weiss sighed inwardly. The girl was hyper, jaunty, over positive, and just _frustrating_ to talk to for more than approximately three seconds. BUt she was here to make amends, and so she put on her brightest smile and said smoothly

"Hi, Nora. Is Pyrrha in there with you?" She tried not to appear to desperate, but she must have let a little bit slip, because Nora said

"No, but if you really need her, I think she's in the library. Although I don't think she's reading." This last bit was whispered, as if they were co-conspirators of some kind. Nora chuckled, and Weiss resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She thanked Nora, then who turned into the room and shouted something to Ren as she closed the door, which Weiss neither heard nor cared about, because at that moment, a melodic voice drifted to her from behind her, saying

"You were looking for me?" Pyrrha stood down the hallway, one hand loosely gripping the bronze(or at least colored) gauntlet on her other arm.

Weiss spun around, looking rather sheepish. "Ah, yes" she said, "I just wanted to apologize." Her tone was a bit hesitant. She was not good at the whole 'apologizing' thing. "Forgive me?" she added. No need to mention what, as Weiss was sure it was as fresh in Pyrrha's mind as it was in hers. Or maybe not. Jaune during Port's class had once told her that people place more significance on events they participated in than others, and while she was only half listening at the time it had rang true to her.

Pyrrha's gaze brightened a bit at that. "No need to apologize," she said, walking towards where Weiss stood. "Your reaction was understandable, under the circumstances." She stopped about a foot away. Weiss smiled a bit. "Good." She said, a bit of tension leaving her. "That was weighing on my mind," which was only a half lie. Then Weiss moved her head a little, and frowned. "What are they talking about?" She said, and pointed.

Pyrrha followed her gaze and saw Ruby and Blake slowly walking down the hall, heads hunched down, animatedly whispering to each other. Blake probably heard, because she looked up guiltily and said "N-nothing!" Weiss let out a short chuckle. Ruby, looked around comically, then said "Aww, we were just getting somewhere!" and trudged down the hall, stopping in front of Weiss.

Ruby began talking in rapid bursts, earlier disappointment forgotten as she excitedly discussed her, but mostly Blake's, plan for talking to Yang. Pyrrha, on the sidelines, tried to look as small as possible, but Weiss could tell she found every word fascinating. Blake broke in before Ruby divulged _all_ of her secrets. Shouldering Ruby aside with a chastising glance, she said to Weiss "we've discussed it, and we would like you to go back into the tournament. Ruby and I have things to do these next couple of nights." She smiled a bit. Pyrrha apparently decided she had had enough of being a shadow, because she broke in with "Your back in the tournament?" She looked excited, and Weiss was about to explain, but Ruby beat her to it. "Yeah, they decided that it was only Yang that committed the crime, so they decided we should all go." Then she pouted. "I wish she was here, though" she said in a small voice, then walked into their room. Pyrrha smiled. "Oh, that's wonderful news," she said impulsively, and Weiss could not help but smile at that.

To Blake, Weiss said "I will gladly play for us in the tournament," and did a little curtsy. Blake smiled, thanked her, and that was that.

Weiss stood in the arena at the end of the line, next to the other finalist students. A cold breeze went through the arena. Weiss glanced around. After the event that happened last time, the cheer that normally presided over these events was dead and gone. A rather bleak atmosphere had settled in over the crowd, and it made Weiss vaguely uncomfortable. She had received many glares on her way to the arena. People knew she was on the team that had committed the crime.

Weiss shifted her feet, and moved Myrtenaster from one hand to the other, and back again. Oobleck and Port were rambling about what and exciting match it would be, but Weiss could see right through the falsified cheer they wore on their faces and in their voices. Weiss shivered.

Overhead, the giant screens were running their course. Weiss stared intently at them. She found it highly unlikely that she would be selected, seeing as Yang had been in the fight just before, but it never hurt to make sure.

The movement stopped on the first screen. Oobleck announced the contender with false cheer. A student from Minstrel, named Chara Ik'Tha. Weiss frowned at the strange name, then turned to study the man himself. He wore a thick black cloak, hiding his face. A number of bone ornaments decorated his neck, and what appeared to be armor plating cut off of Grimm, certainly an interesting choice. Down his chest ran a red velvet strap, and on it were five or six bone knives, which looked freshly sharpened and carved by hand. Quite crude, really, although she supposed they would get the job done.

Weiss looked back at the screens. The second was just finishing its own rotation, and the name was… hers. It seemed that fate had a surprise in store for her.

She strode confidently and assuredly, as well as she could manage, into her position on the main stage, high heels clicking on the steel floor of the arena. The other contenders, not selected for this round, filed off of the stage in a rough line. As the automatic metal doors closed behind the last one, a student from Atlas she vaguely recognized from watching fights, she straightened her back and turned to face her opponent.

The student in question rolled his shoulders, then pulled the first three knifes out of their carries, which were little more than a loop. He put two in one hand and one in the other, then seemed to notice her for the first time.

"How are you, Schnee?" He spoke in a lilting tone, and it sounded like layers of steel scraping against each other, a harsh and discordant sound. His voice felt sinister to her, and she recoiled a little from it.

Weiss heard the strangest clicking noise. It unnerved her almost as much as her opponent's odd appearance, but she ignored it. She responded with "Good, and you?", in a flat tone. After all, what did she care for this boy?

He tilted his head down and ran one finger slowly down the edge of the knife in his left hand. Abruptly, his head snapped up, fixed on her face. She could not see his eyes, but she could _feel_ their intensity as he watched her.

"You shine with a noble fire. Do not allow it to be corrupted." His words had lost their discordance, and had adopted an otherworldly tone. He stood unnaturally still, and the ornaments around his neck seemed to be glowing. But a moment later they were not, and Weiss dismissed it as some sort of fantasy. Why would necklaces glow, she asked herself. But all the same, she took a step back.

He began to move again. The boy crouched down, cloak rustling, and adopted a classic knife fighter's stance. Weiss turned to the side and raised Myrtenaster. Professor port was counting down the seconds in his microphone.

The match started, and Weiss's opponent did a frontflip forward, throwing one of his knifes directly above him at the apex of his rise as Weiss placed a glyph behind her and flew forward, intending to skewer her opponent.

He spun in the air, avoiding Myrtenaster by a hair, and swung with a vicious backhand with one of his knives, which Weiss deflected with her blade. As soon as the blades collided, he let go of his knife, letting Myrtenaster's force fling it into the air, and used the free hand to grab the knife he had thrown originally and bring it in a brutal downward slash that sent Weiss down to the ground, where she backflipped to recover, raising Myrtenaster as she landed on her feet.

He landed gracefully, catching the his knife in one hand. As Weiss charged, a snarl on her lips, he tossed two of his knives in the air and the other at her. She ducked, and then Weiss swore that he passed _through_ her as he leapt forward, black smoke trailing in his wake.

He grabbed the knife behind her and slashed with it, as Weiss spun around and raised Myrtenaster. Blow parried, he used the knife on her blade to lever himself into the air as he flipped over Weiss.

Weiss slashed at his back as he passed overhead, sending him flying towards where his original knives were falling to the ground. He threw the knife in his hand at her, then with a furious clicking noise grabbed the two knives in the air and twisted around, landing knees bent and prepared to spring.

Weiss grabbed the knife hurtling at her by the blade, then flipped it in the air, grabbing the weapon. Snarling, her opponent ripped a fourth knife from the sash on his robe with his teeth and tossed it in a gentle arc towards her, leaping behind it, knives poised to swing. Weiss launched herself into the air to meet him, aiming a downward slash at the student with Myrtenaster as she brought the knife in her hand around to stab him in the gut. Quick as lightning, he deflected the knife blow with his own, knocking both weapons into the air. He blocked Myrtenaster's blow with his other knife before grabbing the weapon he had thrown before leaping and swept it at her side.

Weiss frantically brought Myrtenaster around to the side, flicking the smaller blade aside, and he grabbed the knife spiraling in the air and brought it down at her, but they had hit the ground, and Weiss rolled back to dodge the blow, standing after a couple of meters, blade pointed at her opponent. Clicking softly, her opponent put two of his knives back into their holders, leaving him with two. Weiss charged forward, swinging Myrtenaster at his side, but he _shifted_ again in that direction, passing through the blade as if it was dust. He raised one of his knives into the air and brought it arcing downward at her, not noticing the backhand blow with her blade that sent him flying onto the concrete of the arena. Weiss heard Oobleck and Port speaking, and turned Myrtenaster down and leaned on it. She had won.

Cha Ik'Tha stood up, brushed non existent dust off of himself, and walked up to Weiss. Clicking, he extended a hand, which Weiss shook hesitantly.

"Congratulations," he said in his harsh voice, withdrawing his hand and pacing on the arena grounds. He shook his head ruefully. "Not many get the best of me. And I always reward those who do." He pulled one of the bone ornaments from around his neck. It pulsed softly in the afternoon light, although Weiss could swear it had not before.

He extended it to her. "Here," he said. "This will protect you against possession, and warn you if a possessed is near." Weiss snatched the thing out of his hand, then studied it carefully. It was simple enough, a bead necklace with grimm bones attached, which seemed to glow. As she put it on, the glow faded away. She looked up. "Possession," she repeated, voice unsure. "Who _are_ you?" In answer, he pulled back his hood far enough to reveal a pair of glistening mandibles, then turned on his heel and walked away. Her gaze followed him, confused, but then Ruby jumped on her, shouting congratulations, and Weiss forgot his strangeness for that moment and enjoyed the moment with her team. Except for Yang, and that brought a bit of soberness to her thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

The girl leaned in close, green hair brushing the grey vest her companion wore. They were in the bustling street, so she kept her tone low. "Everything is in place." She smiled grimly. "In two days, she won't know what hit her". Her eyes twinkled.

The boy cracked his knuckles. "Perfect."

Weiss lay face up in her bed, eyes wide open, staring at the bed above her. She could hear the rest of her teammates breathing heavily, and knew that they were asleep. As she well should be. It was extremely early in the morning, and she had to fight again tomorrow. For the fifth time, she was reviewing the impossibility of her situation. She had the program, that much was sure. But she could find no way to tie it to Emerald and Mercury, except for one thing. It was obvious from the usage of the program that it was _their_ matches that had been rigged. However, she knew the authorities would not accept such situational evidence alone.

Sighing heavily, she pushed off her blankets and got up from her bed. If she was going to be up, she may as well get work done. Blearily walking over to where she kept her stuff, she pulled out a laptop(not many people had these anymore, considering how useful scrolls were, but she liked to keep one around. Turning it on, she squinted against the brightness as the computer began to run through it's startup sequence.

Weiss turned her thoughts back to Pyrrha as the computer turned itself on. Truly, she needed to know what had gone on that day. She knew it was irrational, but Weiss hoped that it would provide her with evidence as to convicting Emerald and Mercury. A beep indicated that the device was on. Wringing her hands together, she then brought up an official report she would present to Ozpin about the hack, in order to make it common knowledge. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, beating out a staccato rhythm as she worked. But soon, she turned off the device. Focus was impossible, with the worries that plagued her currently.

Letting out a frustrated growl, Weiss put her computer away and walked into the hallway, closing the door behind her as gently as she could. She began to walk down the hall, she wasn't sure where. Her bare feet echoed on the hardwood floor, being as the hall was dark and utterly silent. That is, until a voice rang out from behind her, impossibly loud in contrast.

"Can't sleep?" Weiss spun around to see Pyrrha standing there, eyes slightly downcast and swaying slightly. When Weiss said nothing, she looked up and added "Well, I would assume so, considering that you are up in the middle of the night," a trace of sarcasm in her voice.

"Yes, I suppose so." Weiss looked away. There was no way in a million years that she could tell Pyrrha what was keeping her awake, but she felt bad lying to a friend. She turned back. "Is something troubling you?" She took a step forward.

Now it was Pyrrha's turn to look away. She wrung her hands uncertainty. After a small period of silence, she met Weiss's gaze. "I can trust you, right?" Weiss looked into Pyrrha's eyes. There was anxiety there, and sadness, but also a spark of hope. Weiss placed one hand over her heart, not breaking eye contact. "Of course, Pyrrha." She took another step forward.

Pyrrha wrenched her eyes away from Weiss. "It's just - I'm supposed to keep it a secret. I want to tell you, I do, but what if they knew…" Weiss placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked at Weiss. There were tears in her eyes, so obviously there was more to this than Weiss thought. All the more reason to find out _what_ was going on. Weiss put on her most confident face. Her mouth formed a smile. "Between you and I. Trust me."

Pyrrha wiped water from her eyes. "Of course." Then she began to depict a story,weave a tale of magic, of fairy tales being reality. As she spoke, voice low and hesitant, Weiss's hand slowly drifted off of her shoulder. Her mouth formed a wide O. Finally, when the story was over, she had mastered herself. Her face went hard.

"You knew something this important, _this_ momentous, and you thought it was okay to _hide_ it?" Her voice rose in pitch as she spoke. Her eyes were glittering embers, her mouth set in a rigid line.

"W-Where is this coming from?" Pyrrha sounded hurt. "Between us, I thought." Her eyes began to tear up again. Weiss placed a hand on her hip and took a step forward. "Of course. I keep my word. But I will resent every moment that I hide from my friends information that could _kill_ them." Pyrrha looked away. "But we _can't_ tell the public. It would bring the grimm." Weiss's eyebrow raised a fraction. "I know _that_ , you dunce. But our _friends_. What about Jaune?" Each word struck Pyrrha like a hammer blow. She raised a hand outwards. "Stop. I was only listening to instructions." With that she turn and half-ran back to her room. Weiss crossed her arms over her chest as she watched. Her gaze was cold, but for some reason she felt regret.

Weiss's eyes opened a fraction, and was about to rub them when she heard furtive voices. Without moving her head, she looked at the window. The sky was dark outside. Wondering just what was going on, she concentrated on what Blake and Ruby were saying.

"Tonight." There was confidence in Blake's voice. "We should be able to get Yang out of prison, and talk in a safe location." Ruby, voice cheerful as ever, replied with "Right. I'll reserve a room in the hotel in downtown Vale, the one with the room you can rent by the hour. You know it?" Blake nodded, and Ruby sniggered. "Hidden under their noses. I like it!"

Blake nodded again. Then Weiss felt rather than saw her gaze turn to her, and squeezed her eyes shut as Blake's roaming ones examined herself. "Then we have the problem of Weiss." Ruby replied with "Weiss? What about her?" Blake turned to face Ruby, or so Weiss assumed. "She will be the first one asked where we are when we go missing, along with Yang. It would be best it we managed to work with her, but something tells me she would never agree." And Blake was right. Weiss had assumed that they just wanted to speak to Yang, not break her out. That would endanger them all, and and Ruby and Blake in a lot of trouble. No matter their motives, they would still have committed a crime.

Weiss broke out of her thoughts, and focused on regulating her breath, so as not to appear awake. She heard footsteps, and Ruby flopping into bed with a contented sigh. Weiss resisted a sigh. It was going to be a long night.

Weiss, flanked by her teammates, walked out of their shared room. It was precisely eight thirty. the morning had passed uneventfully, even if Ruby was a little less cheerful than normal. Now, however, that was gone, as Ruby bounced down the hall, talking about how dogs were actually more intelligent than some Grimm, or something like that. Weiss was _not_ listening, although when Ruby looked back to confirm that they were, in fact, she hastily rearranged her face into one of polite interest. Blake, walking beside her, chuckled to herself.

"Enjoying yourself?" Weiss detected an undercurrent of sarcasm. She tilted her head to one side.

"Let's see.." she said, pretending to think. "How about _no?_ " Ruby stopped and turned around, slumping a little bit.

"Aww… but wasn't that interesting?" She said, the happiness in her voice belaying her posture, a quirky half smile on her face. Weiss laughed quietly, stretching Ruby's smile a little further.

"Excuse me, girls." The three turned around, surprised. Ozpin stood behind them, one hand on his cane, the other holding his ever-present drink. He raised the mug, but instead of drinking used the hand that held it to push back his glasses. "I need to talk with Weiss. Can I take her from you?"

Ozpin raised his cane in an accompanying gesture. Weiss placed a hand over her chest, confused. "Me?" she repeated, voice rising a little in pitch. Ozpin nodded serenely. "You should be able to figure out what this is about."

Weiss lowered her hands, a bit ashamed. She did know what this was about. She tilted her chin back a little. "Of course" she said, the confidence returning to her voice. She strode over to Ozpin. He gestured behind them. He began to turn, then looked over his shoulder, at Ruby and Blake. "You two get on to class." Ruby skipped out of the door, and after Blake's eyes narrowed, she did the same, without the skipping.

Ozpin turned to look down the hallway. "Walk with me." He commanded, beginning to walk down the hallway. A little confused, Weiss followed him. They walked down the hallway, shoes echoing off of the floor. They emerged into the garden, and still Ozpin said nothing.

As they walked, turning into this way and that through the lush, carefully cultivated stretches of the garden, several minutes must have past. They then arrived at an old section, one that looked like it had not been maintained for a long time. Cracks ran down the crumbling concrete wall. Vines covered every surface, forming a latticework of green lines across the floor and singular rotting bench. Ozpin set down his mug on said bench, then turned to face Weiss.

"I am glad to see you are not bereft of patience." he said, flipping his cane in his hand so he held it like a sword. His coat flapped in the breeze. "Now, let me test your skill. Defend yourself." He then, without any other warning, swung his cane in a backhand slash at Weiss, who, startled, managed to whip Myrtenaster out to deflect the blow.

Ozpin, as his cane rebounded from the strike, swung around and cracked Weiss across the head as she stood, wondering what had happened.

She went down on the pavement, Myrtenaster clattering to the ground beside her. She muttered a soft curse as Ozpin reached a hand down to help her up. She took it, pulling herself as Ozpin said, not unkindly, "Next time, do not stand there. Treat me as if I were the enemy." He took a step back. "And, dear," he said, raising his cane, "Watch your language." Weiss's cheeks reddened, and he commanded simply "Again."

This time ready for his attack, she warded off the first blow and quickly thrust Myrtenaster at Ozpin's stomach, forcing him to bring back his own weapon to block the blow. Quick as a snake, he knocked the blade back, wood and metal colliding with a crack, before reversing his grip on the weapon and swinging it at Weiss, who backflipped to avoid the blow. She landed with Myrtenaster ready to thrust, only to see Ozpin leaning on his cane, watching her.

She lowered her blade, and Ozpin went to pick up his drink(what _was_ it?). While he walked, he said "Well done. I needed to test your speed, and apparently it can match mine." He picked up his mug and took a sip.

Weiss sheathed Myrtenaster. "You must have been holding back," she said, placing one hand on her hip. He shook his head. "In terms of speed, not at all. That was really quite impressive." He placed the mug down, and turned to face her.

Weiss leaned on her right leg. "Care to tell me what that was for?" she asked, allowing a bit of sarcasm to creep into her voice. Ozpin, if he noticed it, did not mention. "You are entering the lair of the dragons, with your spy work. I need to make sure you are ready, when the time comes." He pushed back his glasses. "Now, tell me what you know of the four maidens."

Weiss attempted to look confused. "You mean the fairy tale?" Her voice was hesitant at the start, but by the end of the sentence she had managed to regain her composure. Ozpin sighed and tapped the ground with his cane.

"Do not lie to me, Weiss. I will not pressure you about _how_ you know, but answer truthfully. Do you know the truth?" Weiss looked down, ashamed. "Yes" she said quietly, scraping the ground with one shoe.

Ozpin took a step closer. "Do you know who you were dealing with?" He asked, voice serene. Weiss nodded, not looking up. Ozpin turned away. "Now," he said, "I have come across something quite interesting, which might be useful to your little project." He pulled out a scroll from inside his jacket and began to comb through files. "The girl - Emerald, can project illusions. Interesting, no?"

Weiss looked up, and tilted her head to one side. "She could project the illusion of an attack. Then, Yang would have thought she was defending herself," she mused. "But why would she break Mercury's leg?"

Ozpin looked up. "That's the other thing," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "I managed to find a record of an operation giving Mercury a robotic leg. Interesting it was so well hidden." Weiss began to think out loud.

"So that means… if Emerald had arranged it so that the robot leg was hurt, then he would be fine. But if he went to the hospital, surely they would notice. Unless they had an inside man." She stopped, realizing she was droning on, but Ozpin nodded approvingly. "My conclusions exactly," he said, putting away his scroll.

"So, all we have to do to convict them is find out who this is and get them to confess." Weiss said. Ozpin nodded again. "Go to the library. Don't worry about missing classes, this is much more important. Work on this.I'll give you a list of employees working at the hospital at that time. I'll also send… a friend who knows about the situation."

Ozpin strode off towards the school, cane tapping against the ground. Weiss watched him go, then sat down on the bench. "It's going to be a long day." She said, to no one in particular.

Weiss sat in a corner of the library, her legs propped up on a stool. She had been looking over employee records at the hospital for about a half hour on her computer, and had so far found nothing expressly convicting. She sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Hey. You're Weiss Schnee, right?" Weiss looked up to see a man, who looked extremely drunk, standing in front of her. Her eyes narrowed in recognition.

"Didn't you attack my sister?" Her voice lacked conviction, though, she was not entirely sure her sister was in the right. The man, she remembered Ruby calling him Qrow, laughed. "Yeah, that was a good fight. A shame old Ironwood had to ruin it." He pulled a canteen out of his pocket. "Anyway, Ozpin sent me down here to help you with your little project. Impressive, what you managed to do. For a Schnee." He tilted his canteen towards her, then raised it to his lips and drank. He then sat down where he could see the screen of Weiss's computer, steadily ignoring Weiss's glare.

"Alright." Weiss was not in the mood for foolishness just about then. "I've been scanning the hospital employees for anyone suspicious, and have compiled a list of some of them." she said, pointing to the various lists as she mentioned them. "Since you have more experience with this sort of thing, I'll need you to tell me which you think could be the culprit. Once we have a list of probable suspects, we will figure out where to go from there." She looked at his for acknowledgement.

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Ah, no time for fun? Taking after big sister, are we?" He chuckled to himself, clearly amused at his own joke. He raised his canteen, about to drink. Before he could, Weiss snatched it out of his hand. His face was the picture of comical surprise, his hand still holding it's shape.

"Hey, give that back, kid." He was angry, and swiped for his canteen, but Weiss pulled it back. Her eyes narrowed.

"I will not work with a drunk!" She slammed her fist down on her computer. Qrow brushed back his hair. "Well, that's just too bad, kid." He stood up and made as if to walk away. "You won't leave." Weiss called from where she sat, a smug smile on her face.

Qrow stopped, but did not turn around. "And why's that, Ice Princess?" Weiss drummed her fingers on the computer. "Ozpin told you to work with me, and I don't think you really want to go against him. And besides," she added, shaking the canteen, "I have this." Qrow slumped a little bit. "Aye, so you do." He turned back around and sat down next to her. "Let's see this list you compiled, looking bored." Weiss relaxed and started to scroll down the page, pointing to different names. "As you can see - hey!" she said as Qrow snatched back his canteen.

"Never relax when you're near an enemy, kid." He said with a patronizing look on his face, belied by his triumphant smile. "Now, what were you saying?" he said as he tipped back his head and drunk deep.


	7. Chapter 7

Blake crouched lower behind the barrels in the alleyway, Ruby mirroring her movements about 10 feet away behind a stack of crates. The shadows of the night enveloped them, rendering them unseen to the two guards standing rather boredly in front of the side entrance to the prison. One, yellow highlights on his white-silver armor, had his rifle to his side, leaning back against the wall. The other, highlights red, stood more alert, but with his with his rifle strapped across his back. Blake adjusted her grip on Gambol Shroud, motioning to Ruby with three fingers. Ruby nodded, face set determinedly. They had already planned that they would just knock out the guards, not harm them in any way. After all, they were good men.

Three seconds were up. Simultaneously, Blake and Ruby lept over their respective cover like phantoms from the darkness.

The moonlight glinted off of Myrtenaster as Weiss stood against a brick wall on the roof of a building, watching with slitted eyes the few White Fang who were loading supplies onto a couple of carriers. The report about Emerald and Mercury would go out tomorrow morning, providing a valid cover story for the investigation she would carry out with Qrow subsequently. She had sent her enemy a message detailing this, minus the part about the investigation, and had later received a package, anonymously sent but containing two things. One was the orders to be here tonight, and included the signature of the woman. Cinder. The name sent shivers down her spine.

The second thing contained in the box was an unmarked scroll, to be used for communication with Cinder. She held the scroll in her left hand now, and it buzzed to life.

"Good work with the report." The voice, distorted as it was through the scroll, was unmistakable. "The White Fang, while I may have worked with them in the past, are not friends. Kill all of their agents in the area, then send up a flare. You should find one behind one of the crates. I will land, and do the rest. Out." Weiss resisted the urge to snort. Likely the White Fang were allies, and had just refused to give her the supplies. These were probably to break Emerald and Mercury out of prison. Most likely with Torchwick in tow. But that was irrelevant right now. Weiss broke cover, placing a glyph behind her and then flying towards the White Fang, the wind whistling as she passed.

Blake flipped forward, placing a clone dehing her, which one of the guards pointed to and raised his rifle. Blake landed with both feet colliding with the head of one of the guards, and the other fell back in surprise. He opened his mouth to shout, but the sound was stifled as Ruby brought her boot down on his face. Ruby looked down at the man and frowned. "I hope that he'll be okay," she said, scuffing the ground with the heel of her boot. Blake frowned. "Aye," she said, then turned towards the door that the men had been guarding. "I'll go in and find Yang, then bring her out. You stay here, okay?" Ruby looked up indignantly. "But she's my sister!" She said, a hint of anger in her voice. Blake did not turn away from the door. "I have experience in the shadows. And besides, it's easier to sneak in one person to a place than it is two. Ruby sighed. "All right," she said disappointedly and walked over to the crates she had previously been hiding behind, sitting down on them and pulling out her scroll. She fiddled with it a little. Blake, satisfied, peered in through the keyhole in the door. Satisfied that there was no one there, she pulled out a lockpicking kit.

Weiss, flying forward, impaled one of the guards. The others, seeing her sudden approach, yelled in dismay. Two drew swords and ran at her, while the other leveled his gun and began to fire. Weiss placed a glyph on the back of her first victim and flew into the air. Bullets hailed from the weapon of the soldier and pinged off of the brick behind her. Weiss, swinging Myrtenaster, directed a blast of energy at one of the swordsmen, then placed a glyph behind her and launched at the gunman, grunting with the impact as she flew, Myrtenaster forward, into him. Drawing out the blade with a grisly noise, she spun on her heel and rose her sword to deflect a blow from the last remaining swordsman, twisting her weapon so as to disarm her opponent.

He stepped back, raising his hands in surrender. "Please," he babbled, "Please!" Weiss's eyes narrowed dispassionately. This man was a terrorist. He fought for what was wrong. She raised her weapon, then with a disdainful stroke severed his head. She spun on her heel and strode towards the supplies. There was a flare she needed to find.

Blake gently pushed open the door, glancing inside. Security was not that tight. After all, the government was worried about prisoners breaking out, not others breaking in. And besides, this was just a holding block for people suspected of a violent crime. Hardly a maximum-security prison. A shadowy streak, Blake dashed to a control panel at one end of the room. She scanned the controls for what she was looking for. Fortunately, they were well labeled. A small section said cell controls. Squinting, Blake slowly traced her finger down the list. About halfway down, she stopped. Yang Xiao Long.

Weiss stood at the edge of the building, the flare burning behind her. The wind made her hair fly in the wind. She took out the spare scroll. "Objective complete." She said, voice bereft of emotion. "Good," came the reply from over the device. "Stay the course." The crackling feedback accompanied by Cinder's voice faded to nothing. Squinting, Weiss looked down into the alleyway below the building she stood on. Three figures appeared to be running there.

Blake, Ruby, and Yang dashed down the alleyway, back from the way they came. The other prisoners were asleep, but they needed to return Yang before anyone could wake up. ANd if one of the others did, they had to be as far away as possible. "Why did you do it?" Ruby asked Yang over their pounding feet. Yang cast a glance over her shoulder at her. "He attacked me! I know the video feeds don't show it, but he- " Blake cut her short. "We believe you." Yang looked around. "Where's Weiss?" She asked, a little confused. Blake's eyes tightened. "She said she had other plans."

Weiss strode over to the body of the nearest White fang and picked up his sword. Holding it with disgust, two fingers pinching the hilt, she walked back to the edge. The figures were still running. Weiss tossed the sword into the air and caught it, then, letting out a little noise of exertion, flung it at a wire nearby. The building across the way was under construction. A some beams of metal lay suspended by just a couple of coils.

A grating noise interrupted their conversation. Blake looked up in horror to see steel beams falling from far above. Looking upwards, she also thought she caught a hint of white on the top of the adjacent building. She blinked. The steel was still there, but the white was gone. Ruby, noticing it as well, had stopped, but Yang was still running straight towards where they would land.

Weiss strode away from the rooftop, chin high, and walked over to the supply crates, she sat down on one of them, crossed her legs, and sighed. She had no idea how long it would be until Cinder arrived, but she predicted that it would not be a short wait. Cinder was a smart woman, and Weiss assumed she would not hide this close to a White Fang operation.

"Wait! Stop!" Blake yelled, reaching a hand out in Yang's direction. She turned, surprised. "Why?" She said, and gestured with one arm behind her. "I thought we had to leave as quickly as possi - " she stopped when she heard the grinding of the bars together. Slowly, she looked up, eyes widening, as the tons of steel crashed down on top of the arm she still held behind her, pulling her to the ground, arm trapped behind her at an awkward angle under a pile of metal.

Ruby screamed, and jumped onto the pile, desperately trying to push the mess of bars off of her sister's arm. Yang looked like she was holding back pain, there were tears welling in her eyes. Ruby was trying to move a girder lodged firmly in place on Yang's arm, but was getting nowhere. Blake walked over to Ruby, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let's try to move that bar together," she said, trying to keep her voice calm, but could not stifle the bit of emotion that entered it. Ruby nodded. "Right," she said. "You take that end of the bar, I'll grab this one," pointing to each corresponding end in turn. Blake agreed, then moved to her end of the metal object.

Yang was moaning in pain at this point. Really, Blake was impressed that was it. If it were her under there she would be crying her eyes out, she thought wryly. Turning her focus back to the task at hand, she pushed against the bar with all of her might. Grunting in exertion, she and Ruby managed to push it a few inches. Hesitantly, they let it go, and it stayed where they put it. Rubyś face sagged with relief. "I think we can get her out," she said, but her unsure voice but steady. Yang, who could not see what they were doing, twisted her head to try to look behind her. "What's happening?" She said, voice tight with pain. "Are you freeing me?" She tried to yank out her arm.

With a horrible grating noise, the metal bars crashed back down onto her arm, more than before. Yang let out a cry of pain. Her eyes teary, she turned to look up at Blake, who had walked over to stand in front of her. Yang's helpless expression brought a tear to Blake's own eye. She knelt down to put her face closer to Yang's.

"We have two options," she said, her voice a monotone. "Either we can keep trying to push off the metal, and fail, or I can amputate your arm. Your aura should cover the bleeding, and we can get you out of here."

Yang looked unsure. "Are you sure that you can't get me out?" Her voice, normally so strong was a thin whisper. She clenched her untrapped hand into a fist, then let it go.

Ruby walked over to where they stood then collapsed onto the floor, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry sis!"She said, own voice tight with pain. "We tried, but we just can't move it!" She buried her face in her hands.

Yang looked like she was about to break. Blake laid a comforting hand on Yang's free arm. "Be brave," she advised, unable to meet Yang's eyes. "This will be quick." She stood up, and before she could think more about what she was doing, raised Gambol Shroud and sliced off the arm(in reality just the hand and then a little bit was stuck) below the elbow. Yang screamed in pain, and Ruby covered her mouth with one hand, and ran over to Yang, who had tears running down her face.

The noise of turbines woke Weiss from her semi-stupor. She had walked and sat, feet dangling over the edge of the building, as she waited. The three figures below were gone. They had been for around an hour. Cinder had arrived. She stood up, then turned to walk towards the landing area. Her hair snapped in the wind, and she raised one hand to keep said wind out of her eyes.

The transport landed, and it's bridge descended from the main body of the vehicle. Out walked Cinder. There was a smug smile on her face, and she slowly surveyed the landing area. The smile grew wider as she saw the White Fang corpses. She strode down the ramp, heels clicking on the cold metal. Halfway down, she stopped,and cocked her head to one side. Her gaze hardened. "Kneel," she commanded, voice steel.

Obediently, Weiss swept back her hair and lowered herself to one knee, head facing the ground, hands clasped behind her back. She fought to keep her anger from showing. Cinder strode over to her. She placed a hand on Weiss's cheek, almost lovingly, and brought her head up to meet her gaze. She smiled, an ugly thing. "You've done well," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Of course, I've only given you assignments that you would have done anyway. That changes now." There was a sort of pleasure in her voice. She took her hand away, and Weiss let her head fall back so it was facing the ground. Cinder turned around, and Weiss's lip trembled. She hadn't been this outraged for… a long time.

Cinder was still speaking. "Tomorrow, I'm going to have you put these supplies in various spots in prison. Not the one here, but the maximum security one. Then, you'll weaken its defences." She began to walk back towards her vehicle, where two men were exiting.

Weiss lowered her head further. "If that is what you wish," she said, fighting to keep the anger out of her voice.

"Those will be known murderers you release," Cinder crooned. "You know that, right?" She had turned to face Weiss, a mockery of pity upon her face. Without waiting for a response, she strode into the black maw of the vehicle. It took all of Weiss self-control not to try and stab her nominal overlord in the back.

As Weiss tiredly pushed open the door to their shared room, she was met with Ruby rushing to the door. She grabbed both of Weiss's hands.

"Where _were_ you?" Ruby was anxious and her eyes roved around the room. Blake, sitting on her bed in the background, had a book in front of her but was staring at Weiss.

Weiss put a hand up, and leaned on her back leg. "Um… I told you, I was visiting a friend!" She tilted her head back. Blake rolled her eyes. "Till midnight?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm. Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Where were you? Ruby's _never_ up this late."

This had an effect on Ruby. She slumped a bit, then turned and walked slowly to her bed. Weiss's face showed her surprise. She looked worriedly at Blake. "What did I say wrong?" She asked, a hint of petulance in her voice.

Blake sighed deeply, and looked at the ground. "You didn't say anything." She looked at her hands. "It's what happened today." Weiss strode into the room, until she was standing looking down on Blake. She put one hand on her hip. " _What_ happened? Did you go looking for Yang?" Blake clenched a hand into a fist. "Yes," she said simply.

Weiss took a step back, shocked. "Well, w-what happened?" She had forgotten that they were going to do that. Then she wondered what had happened. "Where was she being held?!"

Blake sighed again. "A holding prison in downtown vale for criminals suspected of dangerous crimes." Her voice was a monotone. "We got her out just fine, but when we left and were running down the alley by the back entrance, for some reason a bunch of metal girders fell on her arm. Long story short, I had to amputate it. Happy?" Blake glared up at Weiss.

Weiss raised a hand. "Whoah, don't get angry! This wasn't my fault." But the thought percolated in the back of her head. She had dropped metal on three people running, after all…

Weiss's eyes narrowed. "Did you get any glimpse of who did it. Metal doesn't fall on it's own." She placed a hand on Myrtenaster.

To her surprise, Blake nodded. "I saw a flash of white on top of one of the buildings when the metal hit."

From her bed, Ruby raised her hands in indignation. "You never told me that!" She said angrily. Blake looked back down.

"I was waiting until we were all here." She said, clasping her hands together in her lap. Weiss gave a look of polite confusion.

"And that tells us…" she said, head tilted to one side. She aimed for a look of consideration, but inside her mind was racing. She had been near that prison, saw three figures running…

Her mind stopped for a second. Her hand, which had been clutching Myrtenaster, fell limp by her side. Then, she attempted to compose herself.

Ruby opened her palms in a "you know" gesture. "It means that the culprit was wearing white! Now, who do I know who who wears white…" she said, and began counting on her fingers. Weiss put her hand on her hip. "I have an idea," she said contemplatively. "Why don't we just sleep on it."

Blake looked up angrily. "No! This is _Yang_ , our _teammate_! We have to figure out who did this," she said. Weiss looked chastened. "Of course." She said simply. It was her turn to turn away. "I just think that we'll all think better if we get a night's sleep first."

Ruby, still counting on her fingers, looked up. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight," she said, and looked down at her fingers. "So that makes thirteen, and let's see…" she muttered to herself.

Blake slumped a bit. "Weiss's right," she said, and Weiss's head snapped to face her in surprise. "We're not going to get anything done in the middle of the night while we're all exhausted. And with that, she collapsed back onto her bed, languidly placing her book on a nightstand.

Ruby looked up indignantly. "You interrupted my counting!" She said, but deflated immediately when Weiss cast a glare in her direction. "Well, I suppose you're right…" she said, head moving back and forth. "Well, all right then… G'night," she said, and walked over to her bed and then flopped down, face first. Weiss soon after followed suit, just putting her sword away first.


	8. Chapter 8

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were walking down the hallway. "Soo…. I can spend some time in the library at some point, if anyone want's to figure out who attacked Yang…" Ruby said, more to herself. Blake looked at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yang's trial is today, remember?" She gave a smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "I think that'll be enough excitement for one day." Weiss heaved an inward sigh of relief. She didn't really expect them to find her out, but they had accomplished some extraordinary things before. Outwardly, she tilted her head back."That's true enough" she said to Blake, and Ruby slumped a bit. "Aye, I suppose you're right… " she said. They continued walking in silence.

As they made their way down the courtyard, a figure appeared off to one side. "Hey, Qrow!" She said, and he smiled and rubbed on hand on her head. "Key, kiddo," he said affectionately. He gently detached Ruby. "I'm not here for you today, though." He gestured at Weiss with his canteen. "Ready?" He said. Weiss sighed. "Yes, why not," she said sarcastically, and began to walk towards Qrow. Ruby glanced between them, confused. "Wait," she said, eyebrows high. "You two know each other?"

"So I think I've got a lead," Qrow said as they walked. He took a quick swig of his canteen. Weiss glared at him. "One nurse, on our list, disappeared." He spread his hand wide. "Almost as if by magic," he added, smiling. Weiss rolled her eyes. "All right, so where is she?" Weiss asked, placing a hand on the hilt of Myrtenaster. Qrow sighed. "Didn't you hear a word I said, kid" He said, cupping one hand around his ear for emphasis. "She's _gone._ We have to _find_ her." He said this as if she was a misbehaving child.

Weiss sighed deeply. "All right, then I assume you have a way to find her?" She asked pointedly. Qrow smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do," he said, looking pleased with himself. Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Care to share it?" She asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

Qrow reached into his pocket, then feigned surprise. "Ohh," he said, "it seems I've forgotten my scroll," he said, exaggerating his facial expressions. "I'll go get that, you stay here, kid." He walked around a corner and left.

Weiss, sighing in frustration, went and sat down on a bench, glaring at her hands. Her scroll vibrated. She picked it up. An anonymous message. _Consider this thanks._

She looked up hastily and saw Emerald and Mercury striding towards her. Mercury was smirking openly. Emerald glared at Weiss. "We're going on trial tomorrow, thanks to you. But that doesn't mean you won't pay for that." She gestured towards Weiss with her gun disdainfully.

Mercury cracked his knuckles. "Any last words?" He asked. In response, Weiss, drawing Myrtenaster in one smooth motion, launcher herself at Emerald, who flipped back in response, a look of surprise on her face.

Mercury swung his leg around at Weiss in a kick, which she leaned back to avoid while thrusting Myrtenaster at Emerald. She deflected the blow with one pistol and then swung the other at Weiss. Mercury, as soon as his first foot touched the ground, was swinging his other foot in a lower kick, so Weiss was forced to place a glyph beneath her feet and leap away.

Emerald span her guns in her hands, then fired shots at Weiss, which dissipated off of her aura. Mercury charged forward, launching into the air and swinging one leg around in a kick. Weiss placed a glyph behind her and raised Myrtenaster, matching Mercury's charge. She deflected Mercury's kick with her blade and immediately swiped at his chest, which grazed him. She ducked, just as the chains of Emeralds weapon swung over her head. Snarling, Emerald swept the chain around. Weiss tried to stop the blow, but the chain wrapped around her sword and Emerald yanked it out of her grasp. Panicked, Weiss dove for it, but Mercury with a laugh kicked her away. Emerald smiled.

Then, with a snarl, Qrow flew out of the bushes, swinging his massive broadsword at Emerald, who jumped back in surprise. Mercury's face twisted into a sneer. He spat. "You again?" He said to Qrow, cracking the bones in his neck. "You won't get away this time." Qrow shrugged at him. "I wasn't the one who ran away," he said, then jumped at Mercury, bringing his sword down in a devastating slash. Mercury rolled to the side, then swept his leg around and deliver three kicks to Qrow's arm, the last of which he blocked with his sword. He swung his leg around in a kick at Qrow's head, which he bowed to avoid, sweeping his sword in an arc in front of him as he did so and knocking Mercury to the ground.

Emerald growled, and prepared to attack. Qrow grinned, and gestured with his hand. Immediately, there was a circle of men around them, guns pointed at Emerald and Mercury. Qrow adopted a face of false consideration. "So, you to have two options," he said, gesturing in the air. "You could keep fighting and die, or" he said, and then he narrowed his eyes at them. "You can go to trial for you many crimes."

Mercury's face twisted into a snarl, and he raised his foot, then spun it around in a kick at Crow's head. Qrow nodded, and one of the soldiers shot Mercury with a tranquilizer. He fell, and expression of shock on his face. Emerald looked worried, and prepared to jump. Weiss, who had stood up while they fought, gestured, and glyph appeared beneath her feet. Ice sprang up and enveloped her legs. Qrow grinned. "Well?" He said. "What do you say?"

Weiss pulled her scroll out of her pocket. She sent back a simple response. _My_ _thanks._

Ruby sat with her head in her hands, staring intently at the jury. Blake tried to look disinterested, but Weiss could tell she was paying close attention. Weiss turned back to the jury. Yang stood in front of them, hand in front of her. She stood anxiously awaiting their verdict, constantly glancing uncomfortably at her missing arm, the stump bound in bandages.

Weiss supposed it was a testament of her love for her sister that Ruby had maintained her interest over the proceedings for so long, out of character for the normally capricious girl. The trial was nearly at an end. Now, they just had to wait for the jury to state Yang's fate.

One of them cleared his throat.

"Now," he said, voice sharp but not unpleasant. "Your story is hard to believe, young lady. You claim that Mercury attacked you, against video evidence." He shuffled papers in his hand.

The woman sitting next to him clasped her hands. "However," she said, a sort of half smile on her face, "in the light of recent events, we have come to believe that your target was fully capable of such an act." Yang's face broke out into a smile. "Therefore, this jury has found you innocent. Dismissed." The jury stood and began to file out of the room.

Ruby sprag out of her seat and rushed towards Yang, throwing herself on her in a hug. Yang laughed, and twirled her around.

Blake and Weiss walked over to them. Yang turned her gaze to them. "I'm so glad your okay," Blake said, offering her hand to Yang. moving her arm and letting Ruby fall off of her onto the floor, Yang shook it firmly. Weiss smiled. Their team was back together. Yang _was_ missing an arm, but there were many different models of robotic ones that you could get. And Yang's family was not poor, and if they were, Weiss's certainly wasn't.

Then her face fell. She remembered that the arm, which as the four talked, Yang glanced at often, was her fault. Blake noticed her reservations. She placed a hand on Weiss's arm. "Is something wrong?" She asked, face adopting a worried expression. Just then, a man who Weiss assumed to be Yang's father appeared. He smiled at his daughter.

Weiss now pulled on Blake's arm. "I think we should leave them to their reunion," she said, one foot scraping on the ground. Yangś father enveloped her in a hug as they talked. Weiss saw Qrow shouldering his way through the crowd of leaving witnesses and other such people, and so turned around and began to walk towards the exit. Behind her, she heard Blake do the same.

Once they were outside, Blake turned to face Weiss. "I hope Yang will be okay," she said, and her face looked sad. "She's out of prison, but she lost an arm. That can be hard to deal with."

Weiss nodded, and then gestured down the street. "Shall we walk?" She asked, and without waiting for a response began to stride down the street. Blake ran a bit to catch up, feet clicking on the concrete sidewalk. "We probably shouldn't stray too far," she said, hands swinging by her sides. "Yang _will_ want to talk to us more." Weiss nodded again. "Right," she said, but then turned to look at a nearby park. "Let's just go over there, then," she said, looking at Blake for a response. When she agreed, they began to walk.

The two turned into a secluded corner in the small public park. Blake pointed at a couple of rocks nearby. "Want to sit down?" She asked Weiss, and Weiss agreed absently. The walk here had been mostly silent, and Weiss had been thinking of Cinder and what she was doing with her. In that time, she had come to a decision.

"Blake?" She asked, her voice unsure. Blake looked at her. "Yes?" She replied. She sat with her legs crossed in front of her on the rock.

"I - have a confession to make," she said, and looked down at her hands. Blake placed her hands in her lap.

"Anything, Weiss," she said, and leaned forward a bit. "You can trust me." Weiss decided to get the big issue out of the way first.

"I may have been responsible for dropping the steel on Yang's arm," she said, and cuffed one foot on the ground. Blake looked shocked. "What?" She asked, her face a mask of shock.

Weiss sighed. "I-I didn't know it was you," she said. She looked at Blake. "I - thought you were members of the White Fang." She spoke softly, clasping her hands together in her lap. As Blake began to open her mouth, Weiss held up her hand.

"I can explain," she said, but her voice lacked conviction. She looked back at the ground.

"I was on… a mission, to take some supplies from White Fang ships that were dropping on the roof nearby. After I had killed the guards, I looked down and saw three running figures. I, well, assumed that you were members of the White Fang."

Blake's look of shock had changed into one of disbelief. "A mission?" She repeated, voice incredulous. "A mission for who?"

Weiss slumped forward a bit and sighed heavily. She was silent for a couple of seconds. "Blake, I'm working as a spy." She gazed up at the sky. "I found out where out enemy was hiding, and I decided that posing as being on their side would be helpful. So, I decided to perform missions that would not be too harmful to us. My logic was that I could figure out exactly who our enemies were, and then go from there." She looked back at the ground.

Blake sat, utterly still, for around a minute. Then, having mastered herself, she looked at Weiss. "Look at me." She said simply. Weiss, reluctantly, met her gaze. Blake stared at her. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?" She asked, voice hard. Weiss began to look down, but Blake stopped her. Weiss twisted a finger through her hair. "Because you didn't need to know. The less people who knew, the less chance of information leaking to someone who could use the information harmfully. " She looked at Blake, and now her own gaze hardened. "And that is going to stay the same. I told you because I trust you to keep this quiet. But no one else can know. I simply don't trust Ruby or Yang to keep this a secret. They mean well, but I cannot guarantee they that won't let it slip."

Blake clenched a hand into a fist. Looked at the ground. Sighed, and said "I can keep a secret." Weiss looked at her expectantly. "You promise?" She asked, straightening one of her sleeves. "I need you to promise me something," Blake said instead. She turned to face Weiss. "You'll tell me _everything_ that happens to do with this situation. After a moment, Weiss nodded her assent. "Of course. I swear it." Blake smiled, and gripped Weiss's hand in her own. "Then so do I."

"Look, it's Beacon!" Ruby shouted as they exited the vehicle. There was a smile on her face as she skipped down the ramp. Blake smiled and turned to Yang. "It's good to be back together as a team, isn´t it?" Yang nodded, then sighed.

"I only wish that I still had an arm." Weiss did not miss the glance that Blake shot at her.

"You lost it due to the attack of another prisoner, correct?" The four girls looked in surprise as Ozpin and Glynda approached them. Ozpin's cane clicked on the concrete floor. Glynda appeared to be grading an assignment on her scroll.

Ozpin shook his head, smiling. "Forgive me, I forget my manners. How are all of you?" Ruby swayed a bit on her feet. "Good, thank you," she said, her voice just a little high pitched. Blake simply nodded. Weiss placed a hand on the hilt of her sword, and tilted her head to one side. After a moment, she replied with "Good, I suppose." Yang pulled her mass of hair over her shoulder, struggling a little with only one hand. Glynda got the message. She placed a hand on one of Yang's shoulders.

"It must be very hard for you, Yang," she said, for once not aggravated at one thing or another. Yang smiled sadly. "Yeah," she said. "But they have really good robotics and stuff nowadays. I should be fine." But even as she said it, her expression said the opposite.

Weiss stepped forward. "By the way, Ozpin, what you said earlier. That's right. I believe?" She glanced at Yang. Yang looked confused. She opened her mouth, but Blake quickly began to speak.

"That's true," she said, delivering the barest of looks at Weiss. "But as far as we know, Yang was knocked unconscious during the incident. Such a shame, really." Blake's expression was sad. Ruby spoke up. "Yeah, it is really sad. We can get her a robot arm, though." Ruby's voice echoed with sadness. Yang turned to face Ruby. "Yeah. Dad said he agreed to pay for one, too." Ozpin smiled slightly.

"Well, as your headmaster, I have no real right to give you my opinion, but I would suggest talking to General Ironwood, if you get the chance. He has some experience with prosthetic limbs that might be useful to you." Having said that, he turned and walked back the direction he came from.

Blake adjusted her "bow" uncertainty. "Well, that was a thing," she said, and immediately smiled as Yang responded with an indignant "Hey, that's my line." Ruby chuckled, and Weiss smiled. Ruby, who had pulled out Crescent Rose and was now fondling it, said, "We should go talk to our friends at school. Let they know Yang's okay." She half-walked, half skipped towards the school. Weiss tilted her head to one side. "I concur," she said shortly, and walked after Ruby. Yang looked at Blake.

With a sigh, Yang said "I guess we should go. I just wish everyone would stop treating the situation like everything's better, because it's not." She glanced sadly at her stump of an arm. Blake caught her meaning. "I'm sorry that we made that happen to you, if it makes a difference." Yang shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't drop the steel on me. Whoever did that, it's _their_ fault." And with that, she walked off after the fading figures of Ruby and Weiss.

Blake sighed, wishing she could tell Yang what Weiss told her. But a promise was a promise. Earlier enjoyment gone, she walked after her team.

Nora was bouncing on her bed, ever-present smile on her face, when team RWBY entered JNPR's room. Ren looked up, surprised, from where he was cleaning his weapons. Pyrrha and Jaune were absent. Nora landed, and with an oof as she hit the bed, lept up and enveloped Yang in a hug. "You're back!" She exclaimed. Yang looked with surprise at her and was trying to struggle her way out of Nora's crushing grip. "Well, I mean, we _knew_ you would be back, but we didn' t know _when,_ and there was the trial and all that so…" Nora was still talking when Yang pushed her off. She was smiling.

"Really, Nora, that's very sweet of you, but, ahh, how do I say this…" she scratched the back of her head with her hand. Ren put a hand on Nora's shoulder. "She means that you don't need to hug her so hard." Nora giggled. "Oops, sorry," she said, making an accompanying gesture with one of her hands. Yang blushed. Weiss stepped in front of her.

"So where are Jaune and Pyrrha?" Weiss looked at Ren. "Ren, do you know?" Ren looked at the floor. "They - ah - Pyrrha said they were training." Ruby blinked. "Oh," she said, and Nora looked at her. "Yeah, but they didn't bring their weapons. Strange if you ask m…" Ren put a hand over Nora's mouth. He looked at team RWBY. "What she means is they forgot their weapons. They came back for them a couple minutes ago." Nora looked abashed, and nodded. "Yeah, that's what I meant." She grinned like nothing had happened.

Blake narrowed her eyes. "Interesting," she said, then turned to Ren. "Do you know where I could find them? I have something I need to ask Jaune."

Weiss looked askance at Blake. "Jaune?" she asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I wasn't aware you two even talked to each other." Nora agreed. Blake took a step back. "I'm - working on a project with him," she said defensively.

"What kind of project?" Ren looked at Blake with genuine curiosity in his eyes. Ruby was bouncing on her heels in a corner of the room, having evidently wandered around. "Yeah, what kind?" she asked without bothering to turn around.

Blake scratched the back of her head. "It's an extra assignment for Professor Oobleck. Jaune asked for help on it, and I figured that I may as well help him." Ruby spun on her heel. "Ooh," she said walking towards them. "What's it about?" Yang smiled at Ruby. "You're not really interested, are you?" She leaned on one leg. Ruby looked down. "No, but it's polite to ask!" Blake chuckled quietly.

Ren, smiling, turned to face Blake. "In all seriousness, check in the gym. That's where I would assume they would be, but if there not, check on the roof above the dorm building." Nora swatted at Ren. "You're not supposed to tell them about that," she said in a stage whisper. Weiss smiled.

"Well, if all's done here, I should go," she said. "I have some homework to catch up on, so, bye!" Weiss turned and walked quickly out of the room without a second glance. Nora waved cheerfully at her. "Bye!" She heard Nora shout. In reality, she had finished all of her work and had to write a program to hack into the cameras at the prison so she wouldn't get caught on her work for Cinder tonight.

The wind howled as Weiss hauled herself onto the roof of the prison a few hundred miles from the walls of Vale. This was no simple containment facility, but a maximum security prison for prisoners considered to be a threat to Vale. Torchwick was being held here. So we're Emerald and Mercury.

Weiss had received an update from Cinder. They would not actually place the supplies today, just pass along messages to be ready to escape, and set up methods of delivery. Weiss shuddered at the thought of escape. Making it past the first layer of security had been hard enough for her, but she additionally would not allow herself to kill anyone. The guards were innocent.

Having mounted the rooftop, Weiss walked slowly along the hard concrete of the roof. Her hair streamed behind her. She had let it hang loose today, to help avoid recognition was she caught. Also to this effect, she wore all black, and a face mask. In her hand was her scroll, which she routinely swept from left to right. The little red circle in the top-left indicated she was recording.

She reached the roof of one of the cells identified as important. Sighing softly, she knelt down and pulled out a small electric drill, modified to produce less noise. Placing her scroll on the ground next to her, she set the drill to the concrete and activated it. The bit began to bore slowly into the cell, chips flying away from it's rapidly rotating head.

The purpose of drilling the hole was to break the sound-proof coating surrounding the cells. Once it was broken in all of the cells, and Weiss was evacuated, Cinder would broadcast sound little louder than a whisper through the holes with state-of-the-art sound shaping speakers. With these Cinder would then inform them of their planned escape in two weeks time.

Cinder had not shared this openly with her, but Weiss figured the reason that she was afraid to give them supplies now was that they would jump the gun and try to break free out of her plants.

With a jolt, the drill sank the rest of the way into the cell. With a small grunt of exertion, Weiss pulled it out and rose to her feet. Leaning on one leg, she pulled out her scroll. She gently swiped it with two fingers until she reached her list of target cells. Torchwick, Emerald, and Mercury all occupying places on it. Weiss rolled her eyes. Cinder was so predictable.

Weiss dusted imaginary dust off of her outfit as she walked down the hallway to her dorm. It was nearly midnight, and so she assumed everyone was asleep. The rest of the job had been boring. Taking footage of the camp and drilling holes. The guards never thought to check the roof. She chuckled under her breath as she walked. The guards would be _so_ surprised by the escape. Then she stopped and caught herself. She couldn't take pleasure in other people's pain.

She began to walk again, more slowly than before. She was ashamed of herself. Such a thought should have never entered her head. Sighing, she approached the door to their room. Her hand gripped the cold steel of the doorknob, and she turned it slightly to open the door.

Blake, who evidently had been awake, rushed to the door. She placed one hand on the door frame, and rested the other on her hip.

"Where have you been all night?" She asked, her voice echoing across the previously dead silent hallway. Weiss practically jumped in surprise. "Is anyone else awake?" Weiss whispered urgently. She strained her head to try to see past where Blake was blocking her view of the room.

"No, just us," Blake said, then smiled conspiratorially. "So, where were you?" Blake leaned forward slightly. Weiss glanced around the room, then leaned in a little closer to Blake. "Not here," she hissed, then turned and strode down the hallway back towards the exit.

Blake exited and closed the door behind her, trailing a few steps back. "Wherever you want," she said, the smallest hint of sarcasm in her voice. Weiss stopped. "You're awfully cheerful today, aren't you?" She said, far more sarcasm present in her voice than in Blake's. Blake's eyes glinted. "Yep, she said, then walked in front of Weiss and grabbed her wrist, pulling her forward.

"Let go of me!" Weiss snapped, puller her arm out of Blake's grasp. "So, where are we going?" Blake asked, this time serious. Weiss rubbed her wrist. "Out into the conservatory and around that corner," she said, indicating the direction with her finger, then began to walk. In a whisper she added "There are no cameras there." She began to walk, boots clicking off of the ground in the silent passage.

Ruby's eyes were half open. It was the middle of the night and she could not fathom why she was awake. Through her slitted eyes, she saw Blake standing in the door. Then she started as Blake spoke. "Where have you been all night?" she asked, a hint of anger in her voice. Shaking her head blearily, Ruby leaned forward slightly. As the person outside responded, Ruby was a little less shocked. It was Weiss. Probably had some kind of issue that needed resolving. Didn't she see a friend yesterday? Ruby rolled over on her bed. She was sure that it was nothing.

The two stood, backs to the wall, in Weiss's corner. Blake had one leg bent and leaned on it against the wall. Weiss began to walk back and forth, hands clasped behind her, looking at the ground.

"Haven't I been here before?" Blake equired, looking to her left and right. Weiss stopped pacing and smiled. "Yes," she said, "When you and Ruby were finding me when I was late for that tea party you wanted to halve. Truthfully, I just said yes to shut Ruby up. She seemed so excited about it, and I hated to let her down." Blake grinned. "Me too," she said, voice warm, and pushed off the wall. "I was planning to just be somewhere else that day, but Ruby found me, and as you say, it seemed wrong to disappoint her." Then her eyes narrowed.

"Don't try to distract me," she said, and her voice had lost its warmth. "Where were you?" Weiss placed a hand over her heart and leaned back. "I wasn't trying to distract you," she said, and looked hurt. Blake waved a hand in the air. "Whatever," she said. "Where were you?"

Weiss raised a finger and began to slowly circle her head. "Well, you see, I was…" but Blake impatiently cut her off. "I know it may seem questionable," she said, a hint of anger in her eyes. "So get on with it."

Weiss dropped the hand and sighed. "Very well…" she said, and took a step forward. "It was quite mundane, really. Cinder just wanted me to set up a means of communication between her and the prisoners in a maximum-security prison. Where their keeping Mercury, Emerald, and Torchwick," she added. Blake frowned. "Cinder?" she asked, looking confused.

"The enemy we all face. " The two girls turned in shock to see Ozpin standing behind them. Blake's hand strayed towards the hilt of her weapon. Ozpin tilted his head. "Well, all but her servants and master." Weiss's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing, listening to two girls in the middle of the night?" Her voice was low and furious.

Ozpin tapped his cane on the concrete, and began to walk back and forth. "I'm not here because of you, but it's true that would be inappropriate. I'm here because I walk this courtyard quite regularly when I have trouble sleeping." He said, and sighed to himself. After a moment, he added "That's how I saw you that first night of this whole escapade, Weiss." Weiss took a step away from Ozpin. "You saw?" she asked, scouring her brain for any memory of seeing him.

Ozpin nodded. "I didn't know what you were doing at the time. But when Pyrrha told me you hacked the cameras, I wanted to see what you had to say." He leaned forward slightly. "It's very hard to lie to me. Had you tried, you would not be standing here now."

Blake glanced between the two of them. "Wait, when was this? Pyrrha knows?" Weiss sighed, and put her weight on one leg. "This was a couple of days ago. And Pyrrha doesn't know, and I don't want to hear that you told her." Blake nodded. A hint of anger tinted her eyes. "You told me that you would tell me everything about this." Weiss nodded. "What happened. Not what had happened." Blake's face tightened, and she glanced at Ozpin. "Before we go back to our room, I expect to be filled in on what _has_ happened." Weiss sighed again. "Very well."

Ozpin pushed his glasses back. "On another note," he said, voice somber, "Qrow has found a lead on the project you two were working on. Perhaps Blake will want to join you?" He looked at Blake, eyes raised as he said it. Blake looked down. "I don't think so. I have work to do, and Weiss has been constantly pulled out of class. We're in this school for a reason."

Weiss sighed quietly. "Well, if that's all, I've had a very long day, and would like to get some sleep. Blake, Ozpin, if I could go?" She began to walk away. Blake joined her. "I concur," she said as she walked. Ozpin watched them go, a small smile on his face. Then the smile fell. He, too, had work to get done.


	9. Chapter 9

Weiss yawned and stretched her arms wide. Sunlight streamed into the room from the open window. Rolling over lazily, Weiss glanced around the room. Everyone else had already gotten up. Blake was sitting in a chair, eyes intent on her book. Ruby and Yang were talking.

"So, how'd you sleep last night, lil' sis?" Yang was playing with her hair with her remaining arm. Ruby was paying half attention, moving her hands slowly across Crescent Rose, polishing it. She moved her head from side to side. "Mmhmmh," she mumbled, then looked up and raised a finger. "Oh! I woke up in the middle of the night! Blake was up, too…" She said, lost in thought.

Weiss snapped out of her sleepy state of mind. She narrowed her eyes to focus on what the two were saying. At present, Yang turned to Blake. "Is that so?" she asked, a teasing tone in her voice. Blake looked up, startled. "Oh, uh, yeah," she said. "I was um… worried about the test today." She scratched the back of her head.

Weiss smiled. "But the test's tomorrow, not today, silly," she said. Her voice had a teasing tone to it. She felt there was no harm in continuing the discussion. Her teammates would never suspect Blake of malicious intent. Blake blushed. "Yeah, well, I forgot." She sounded abashed.

Ruby adopted a sympathetic expression. "Oh, that's okay, I forget sometimes too. Maybe we can help each other remember!" Blake glared at Ruby, and Weiss and Yang both burst out laughing.

Weiss shouldered her way past a group of students chatting near the door of the classroom. Classes were over for the day. As far as she knew, Ruby and Yang would be out for the afternoon, looking for a robot arm for Yang. Blake had told Weiss she would be in the library.

She walked slowly down the hallway to the exit into the courtyard, not in any real hurry. She had the rest of the day to herself. The sounds of students talking all around her merged into a constant background as she walked through the doors and into the hallway, lost in her thoughts. Her fingers moved in a seemingly random pattern in the air, her eyes aimed pointlessly at the sky. Which was why she walked straight into a drunk Qrow in the courtyard.

"Hey," he said, gesturing with his canteen. "We never did finish yesterday. I found something interesting, and I think that you'll say the same. Come with me." With that, he turned and sauntered off. Weiss crossed her arms in front of her and hurried to his side. "What _is_ it that could be so important?" There was annoyance in her voice. Qrow took a swig from his alcohol.

"Found the agent we were looking for in the medical staff. A," and here he tilted his head a bit, "friend of mine managed to secure her location. You free this afternoon?" He stopped suddenly and turned around to look at her. His gaze was strangely intense.

Weiss opted for a look of skepticism. "How reliable is your… friend?" She stopped a couple of feet in front of him. Qrow made a gesture in the air with his hand. "Reliable enough," he said, and his eyes narrowed. "So, are you free?" Weiss thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't see why not." Qrow's eyes glinted.

Weiss's hair blew in the wind, flapping out of control. Qrow stood across from her, grinning wildly, clothes flapping in the wind. Weiss glanced desperately from side to side. "Are you sure that you can trust this friend?" Weiss had to strain her voice to be heard over the wind. Qrow nodded. "He's a great pilot," he said, and took a sip of his beer. Weiss glared at Qrow. "There's no pilot!" She leaned forward.

Qrow waved a hand in the air. "It's remote control. He, or she," he said, raising a finger, "wanted to remain anonymous. I trust you, but _they_ may not. Besides," he added, "We're here."

Weiss, still wide-eyed, looked over the landscape before them. A small village lay sprawled in front of them. Smoke curled from chimneys. A small release of breath showed her surprise. "I recognize this place. Ren wanted to go here, back last year," she said, focused on the scene in front of her.

The machine touched down gently on the grass, around a mile away from the village. The grass around the chopper blades spun wildly in the wind, then slowly returned to equilibrium as the vehicle turned off.

The ramp lowered, and Qrow and Weiss walked down the hard metal to the field. In the distance the village loomed. Weiss glanced askance at Qrow.

"Why land so far from the village?" She asked, and she began to walk towards it. Her hand was on the hilt of her sword, and her eyes roamed side to side. Qrow laughed, and began to walk after her.

"Personally, I don't want to draw attention. Arriving in a big vehicle like that would do the opposite." He caught up to Weiss. Weiss looked at him. She had to tilt her head up slightly to meet his eyes. "Won't we stand out, armed as we are?" Qrow chuckled, and rolled his eyes.

"Now, I know you don't exactly leave the city, but it's a dangerous world out here. _Everyone_ goes armed, we'd stand out if we didn't."

Weiss sighed. "Oh," she said, half to herself, and continued walking. "What do we do when we arrive?" She didn't bother to turn around as she asked the question, and Qrow began walking after her.

"Simple," he said. "We find who we're looking for, I have a description, and then we lure her out of the village and take her to this plane." Qrow pointed back at the vehicle. "Then, we knock her out, and when she wakes up we question her." He pulled out his canteen and began to drink.

Weiss glanced sidelong at him. "That's far from simple. I can think of a lot of ways that won't work." Qrow looked distastefully at her. He pulled the canteen from his lips and stopped it.

"You know kid, you think too much." His tone was sour, but amusedly so, and Weiss had to keep herself from chuckling.

The two walked into the village, eyes alert for danger. Buildings rose around them, most made of wood or stone. People walking about in the town barely paid them heed. Weiss noticed that, indeed, most of the residents were armed. Her hand unconsciously drifted to the hilt of her own weapon. To Weiss, this was an unfamiliar climate and she had not idea what to expect. Qrow, by contrast, had a relaxed posture, tattered cape swaying lazily in the wind. This was his element, and he had a smile on his face as he raised his canteen to his lips. Weiss sighed.

"Must you drink that right now?" Weiss placed a hand on her hip. Qrow raised an eyebrow. "I've got a better question. Why must I _not_ drink?" He drank deeply, and Weiss shook her head. She lowered her voice.

"A professional huntsman, and your drunk on a mission." She began to walk down the street. Qrow chuckled, and capped his canteen. "I'm always drunk." he said with a smile. "Didn't your sister tell ya?"

Qrow pointed at a nearby building with his canteen. "Why don't we begin our search over there?" He said. He strode off towards it. Weiss glanced at the sign on the building, then sighed exasperatedly. "Really? A tavern?" She began walking behind him. "Haven't you had enough to drink?"

Qrow laughed. "A tavern like this is a great place to gather information. After the work day is done, people gather here to talk. And if there's a new person in town, that'll be something interesting for the locals to discuss." He tapped the side of his head. "So, you see, I do think."

"It does make sense, I suppose," Weiss grudgingly admitted. She had caught up with him by now, and Qrow put his canteen away. Then he slumped forward. "That, and I've run out of beer." He was smiling as he said this. Weiss placed her face in the palm of her hand. "Of course you have…" she muttered to herself irritably. How again had she been talked into this?

The two sat at a dirty table in the bustling tavern, in the corner. Weiss picked at the wood of their table, which looked old and rotted. The building was well lit by a fireplace in one corner, and dust motes floating about the room. It was packed to the brim, with patrons talking, laughing, and gambling amongst themselves. The two windows added even more light to the room. The building itself looked like it needed a good cleaning, however.

Weiss crossed her legs under the table. "Tell me more about the friend who gave you this information. I think I deserve that much." She picked a stray woodchip from the table and fiddled idly with it.

Qrow leaned back in his chair. He signaled behind him with two fingers for a waitress. "Well, you see, I've never actually _met_ her." Weiss glared at him. "And you trust her?" She half rose from her seat, and Qrow raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Wait wait, hear me out, okay?" Weiss reluctantly sat back down. Qrow put down his hands. "So, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," here Weiss glared at him again, "I've never met her. However," he said, raising a finger for emphasis. "She has given me vital information to a couple of my past missions, all of which have proved reliable."

The waitress had arrived, but Qrow hadn't seen her. She was a young girl, a little older than Weiss, with an average build and plain, forgettable face. "So I _assume_ we can trust her. Happy?" Qrow was still talking, and his eyes narrowed. Weiss looked at the table, watching the waiter with one eye. "Whatever you say, Qrow. The waitress is here." Qrow started, and turned around, but what fascinated Weiss was the waitress's reaction.

She flinched, as though in recognition of the name. She composed herself astonishingly quickly, however, and there was no other sign than the slight glint in her amber eyes that she had even heard the words. Weiss's own eyes tightened. She would watch this one.

"I'll have a pint of beer. Whatever's cheapest." He said, then raised his head. "Oh. Without any watering down." He said the last two words with scorn. The waitress nodded kindly. "And you?" She was smiling, but there was no hint of amusement in her cold eyes as she turned to face Weiss.

Weiss waved a hand in the air without looking up. "I don't need anything." Her voice was nonchalant, and the waitress nodded. She pursed her lips. "Not even a little cider? I can take out the alcohol if you don't drink," she added, perhaps recognizing her age, and Weiss looked up at her. She smiled as charmingly as she could. "No thank you," she said, in a voice that sounded simple and happy. The waitress smiled back, but still not a flicker in her eyes. "Are you sure?," she said, a little disappointed. "Not even a-" and Weiss interrupted her, saying "Yes, I'm sure." She nodded her head firmly.

The waitress forced a smile. "Okay," she said, and turned around to push expertly through the crowds. Qrow sat up to watch her go, then turned back to Weiss. "I hope she's quick." He talked half to himself, and Weiss was too lost in her thoughts to respond.

She found it deeply odd that the waitress had seemingly recognized Qrow, and her eyes deeply disturbed Weiss. Furthermore, she had wanted Weiss to order a drink a little _too_ much.

Weiss sat, head propped up on one fist, running through the possibilities with such intensity she lost track of time. She was startled out of her semi-stupor by Qrow saying "Thank you," warmly to the waitress, then accepting the beer she offered. "That was awfully fast," he said appreciatively, and Weiss had to agree. About the speed.

The waitress turned around back into the crowd, and Qrow raised the beer to his lips. Before he could begin to drink, however, Weiss raised a hand. She gazed at Qrow. "I wouldn't drink that if I were you." Qrow cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" he asked, but refrained from drinking for the moment.

Weiss maintained her gaze. "You weren't watching, but the waitress reacted when I said you name. And she seemed a little too eager to get me a drink." Qrow nodded. "Yeah," he said, then raised the drink to his lips. After a moment, he lowered it, and Weiss noticed he had not drank. He wiped his lips with an exaggerated gesture.

"Gotta maintain an image," he said. He pulled from a bag on his belt a vial of some powder. He tipped a bit into his beer, and after a moment the color changed slightly. He nodded. "As I thought," he said softly. Weiss smiled. "You carry a poison testing kit around with you?" Her voice was amused.

Qrow capped the vial. "Never know when it might come in handy," he said. Then he glanced longingly at the beer. "I could really use a drink, though," he said, and Weiss laughed slightly.

Just then, a woman passed by there table. She ran her hand along the edge, then walked forward and disappeared in the crowd. Weiss never saw her face, but her hair was odd. One half had been pink, the other brown. The girl felt oddly familiar

"You put that there?" Qrow was pointing to a piece of paper on the table, and Weiss's eyes widened slightly. Soundlessly, she shook her head, then picked it up. She flipped the paper over. It was a ruffled, small piece, with a message written across it in pen. Heart beating, she read it to herself, eyes moving across the page fervently.

 _Good job evading that. Meet me in 1 hour west of the village. Am an inside agent. Come armed._ The message was unsigned. Qrow looked about the crowd while Weiss read the note.

"Strange hair on that one, eh?" Qrow sounded bored as he said it, but his eyes were alert, scanning the crowd. Weiss started at that. _Strange hair._

"I remember her!" Weiss said a little loudly, then hurriedly lowered her voice. Her gaze was intense. "She was with torchwick the night our team decided to investigate!" Then Weiss frowned. Her eyes scanned the crowd. "Where'd she go?" Qrow shrugged. "Dunno." Belatedly, he cackled. "That investigation of yours failed pretty bad, though." Weiss glared at him, and gripped her hip with her hand. "That's why I'm here now," she said, and passed Qrow the note. "Tell me what you think of this." Qrow snatched it out of her hand, held it with two fingers, then scanned the page. As he read it, his eyes tightened.

"Think we can trust this girl?" Qrow looked up at Weiss, who let out a short bark of laughter.

"Absolutely not," she said, and waved a hand in the air. "She was with Torchwick, so it's more than likely this is some sort of trap. But I think we should investigate." Qrow frowned at her. "Why?" He asked. "It would be safer to just ignore it and continue with our goal."

Weiss smiled. "Our goal is to find an associate of Cinder's. Where better to do that then at a trap she set?"

The two walked down a rough gravel path leading out of the village. Pebbles crunched beneath their feet, shadows cast brilliantly by the afternoon sun just beginning to set. Weiss glanced at Qrow. "Are you sure that we'll be done in time to get back today?" There was genuine curiosity in her eyes, and Qrow shook his head slowly.

"No." He said. "But that's the case when you're a professional. Missions can go longer than expected, and you have to deal with it. That's the realm you entered when you chose to start this mess." Weiss shivered a little, and nodded.

"I suppose I did sign up for this," she said, a hint of wistfulness in her voice. Qrow looked at her. "Sorry?" he asked.

Weiss stopped, then shook her head. "No. It's just… I miss being a carefree student like the others. Like Ruby." Her eyes glazed over a bit as she thought about what could have been. Qrow nodded, and began to speak, but were interrupted by a loud ringing from Weiss's pocket.

Frowning, Weiss reached in and pulled out her scroll. Her hands moved deftly about the metal as she opened it, and saw she had a call from Ruby. Qrow leaned over her shoulder, then shook his head, smiling. "Speak of the devil," he said, mostly to himself.

Weiss brought the device to her ear, then winced as she heard Ruby's voice. "Where have you been all day! We've been looking for you for half an hour, and we're worried! Oh! And Yang found an arm she likes. We're going to get it attached tomorrow. Blake says it's too flashy, but I like it" Weiss smiled at the outpour of words flowing from Ruby. She could never limit herself to just one idea at a time.

"Hold on, I'm going to turn on video feed." Weiss pulled the scroll away from her ear and enabled the camera. She looked down at the screen, and saw Ruby, Yang, and Blake all cramming next to each other to see Weiss. Weiss sighed.

"I'm just outside the kingdom." Her face tightened a bit. She wanted to see whether she would have to continue. Weiss felt rather than saw Qrow move to her right to try to move into the camera, and held up a hand to stop him from doing so. She made sure that it did not enter the camera's view.

Ruby cocked her head and frowned. "Why?" She asked, and scratched her head. Weiss smiled at the simplicity of her reaction.

"I'm in a village. I heard they have an artifact that would go well in my sister's collection, and I wanted to buy it for her." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qrow nod his approval at the lie. It was Yang who responded.

"Oh. Sooo, when can we expect you back?" Her expression was frank. Weiss thought about it for a moment, then replied.

"Not sure. I still have to arrange for shipping, and the seller's asking an unreasonable price I'm trying to haggle down." She forced a chuckle. "That could be a while." Ruby grinned.

"Yeah, good luck with that. I'll be seeing y- oh! One more thing. Have you seen my uncle Qrow? I know it's a stretch, but you two were together the other day, so…" Ruby left it at that. Weiss tilted her head to the sky, pretended to think. Then, she looked back down at the camera. "No, haven't seen him." She rolled her eyes. "You might try looking at some bars." Yang laughed at that.

"Yeah, true enough. Okay, Bye!" The video feed winked out, and Weiss slumped over and sighed. To Qrow, she said,

"It feels wrong to lie to my teammates." She glanced dejectedly at him. Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"Why'd you turn on the video feed?" For once, he was not sarcastic. Weiss put her scroll away, then straightened her back.

"It makes for a more convincing lie," she said. If they see my face, they don't think I'm hiding something. Qrow nodded.

"You're not a bad liar, kid," he said, and Weiss grimaced. "Not exactly a compliment," she told him. Qrow straightened.

"We all use what we need to. It may seem wrong, but out here, anything for survival." He pulled out his canteen.

Weiss pointed to the canteen. "That's empty," she said matter-of-factly. Qrow swished it distastefully. "So it is," he said disappointedly, and Weiss burst out laughing.

Blake, sitting in a chair, with her legs up and holding them, was having trouble keeping her thoughts to herself. Weiss had hung up about five minutes ago. Ruby was pacing the room, talking about some homework assignment she hadn't done and how hard it was going to be. No one listened to her. Yang, laying on her back on her bed, turned her head to face Blake.

"Whatcha thinkin about?" Yang asked Blake teasingly. Blake's face snapped up.

"What? Oh, uh, nothing in particular." Blake was a terrible liar, and her face showed it. She absently played with her bow with one hand.

Yang turned so she was lying on her side, facing Blake. She looked curiously at the faunus. "That's preposterous." she said. Her voice was oddly normal for Yang. "Everyone's thinking about something. It just… sometimes isn't very coherent." She looked at the ceiling on this.

Blake shook her head. "Well, it's not something I want to talk about, okay?" Ruby had stopped talking at this point, and stood, one hand on her hip. She cocked her head curiously. "Why not?" She asked. Her voice was gentle in its innocence. Blake sighed, and Yang glanced at Ruby as if to say "shut up," a message Ruby evidently got, as she looked to the ground and scratched the back of her head, muttering "Oh, okay, it's gonna be like that then."

Yang turned her head to Blake again. Her eyes were considerate. "Whatever you say," she said. She rolled on to her back. "I only hope you'll tell us if you change your mind." She raised her remaining hand above her head and began to make shapes with it.

Blake nodded, again too consumed in thought to speak. What Weiss was doing was… wrong. That she felt. Not what she was _doing,_ but how she was handling it. They were a team. Team RWBY. They did things together. Keeping her operations, possibly critical to the safety of the kingdom, between herself and Blake, was wrong, and furthermore put a divide in their team. Because of this, she wanted to tell her teammates about it. But she also had Weiss' trust, who had only been willing to tell her. She didn't want to break that.

She glanced distractedly at one hand. Deep circles under her eyes belayed the problems she had been having with sleep for the past couple of weeks. It was all so confusing, and not just because of Weiss. The message she had received two weeks ago, well, that was better not to think about. She glanced at the ceiling in despair. She had to think of something to do.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yang looking sadly at her.

Qrow walked low to the ground, blade drawn, looking side to side like a predator on the prowl. Weiss stood straight, one hand on the hilt of her sword. The road had ended, and the two stood in a field of grass. The setting sun cast a brilliant red glow on them. Weiss sighed.

"Qrow, you know she said to meet us here. She knows we're here. You have no reason to act like some kind of cat."

As if on queue, the woman walked out of a bush. She was now dressed as she was the day that she had fought Yang, her umbrella draped over her shoulders. She looked at the two of them, cocked her head, and regarded them for a moment. Qrow stood and eyed her like she was some insect. "Who are you?" He asked, his voice rough and callous.

The girl looked up into the air as if thinking, then deftly pulled several cards out of her sleeve. She stared at them for a moment, fanning them with her agile hands, then flipped one over and showed it to them. The paper was new, with a little pink border around the card. It read 'My name is Neopolitan.'

Qrow's eyes narrowed even further than before, and he pointed his blade at her. They were standing about a foot apart. "How can we trust you?" His voice contained barely held back malice.

Neo thought for a moment, then picked one of the cards she was holding and showed them what it read. 'You can't. But then again, I can't trust the ice queen.' She glared at Weiss as if to emphasize, who stepped back. She placed a hand over her heart. "Me?" she asked, and at Neo's firm nod, narrowed her eyes. "Well, I guess we'll just have to go off of common sense. For one, I think it doesn't make sense for you to be lying here. This could a test of loyalty, but I think Cinder half hopes I betray her. Killing me would serve her well in intimidating the rest of her followers to _keep_ following her." Something told Weiss cinder didn't win anyone through love or friendship. "And if I was loyal, what would I be doing with _this_ one?" At this she jerked a thumb at Qrow. "And if you think about it, I have no real reason _to_ work with her"

Weiss performed a mocking bow. "If that's acceptable, why don't you tell me why _you're_ disloyal." As Neo lifted one of her eyebrows, Weiss waved her hand in the air. "Oh, don't give me that." Her voice was cold. "You would have attacked us if you weren't." Neo nodded, seemingly satisfied by her explanation, and reached for one of the cards in her hand, but Qrow raised his own into the air and stopped her.

"Tell us why you won't talk first. It's getting annoying," There was a leering tone to his voice. As Neo reached for a card, Weiss glared at Qrow, eyes alight.

"Be diplomatic!" she hissed, her lips twisted into a frown. "We _need_ her." Qrow shrugged, and still angry, Weiss turned back to Neo and read the card as she composed herself.

'I don't speak because I swore not to, until _she_ is dead.' _She_ was underlined several times. 'She killed my family in an attack on a village, and I'm not sure she knows it was mine. I'm with her until I get my chance to kill her.' the note ended. Neo had tilted her head to the side, and bore a savage smile on her face. Qrow nodded to himself. His movements were carefully controlled, a drunk who was used to the condition.

Weiss placed a hand on her hip. "If it's okay with you, we should arrange a meeting later. Come with information that could help us work together to bring her down." No need to mention who she was talking about.

Neo nodded confidently, then glanced at Qrow. She pulled a pen out of her sleeve, then wrote quickly on one of the cards.

'Weiss, as a fellow schemer, I would like to discuss with you alone.' She accompanied the message with a cold look at Qrow, who raised his hands in a mocking surrender. "Alright, I get it, you want me gone." He narrowed his eyes at Weiss. "You gonna be okay without me?" Weiss nodded confidently, and Qrow spun on his boot and strode off, whistling a merry tune.

After he had gone, Weiss turned to Neo. She took a step forward and smiled at her. "What is it exactly you want?" Weiss let her voice grow warmer.

Neo strode towards Weiss until they were near inches apart, then leaned towards her. She pulled out another card and flipped it over. She shielded the message with her body, her hands wavering slightly. Weiss read the card.

'He's not who you think he is. Or who he thinks he is. When he fought with Cinder and her lackeys a while back, he picked up a chip. If they find him, they can read it. We need something to recognize as our message. This is mine.' And Neo passed her a card with the word 'aspire,' and a little drawing of a flower with a dagger stabbed through it. The detail was intricate. Weiss took it, and Neo offered her a pen and a card. The card had the same drawing in the corner.

Weiss felt like for the first time in her life, she was making a difference. Everything up to this had been preliminary. She was now in contact with someone who could make a difference. It was a wonderful feeling, that swept through her entire body, and made her feel strangely warm. With bated breath, she wrote her own code word, and passed it to her new ally. _Ascend._ Weiss met Neo's confident gaze with her own.

The night was young, and crickets chirped as Weiss and Qrow approached their vehicle. Qrow narrowed his eyes. "Wow," he said in mock surprise. "It's still there." Weiss rolled her eyes at that.

"Come on," she said, and strode forward quickly to board the metal walkway. "It's late already, and we really don't have time to waste. Qrow nodded, then boarded as well.

He turned to Weiss and said seriously, "I'm flying us back, so before I have to concentrate, I'd like to ask you a question." Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"And that would be?" Her tone was neutral and light. Qrow looked intensely at her. "What did that one want with you alone?"

Weiss raised her eyes to the sky, considering. She fiddled with one hand. After a moment, she said "She wanted to exchange information for a further meeting. That's really all." Weiss held Qrow's gaze, who after a pause shrugged. "Alright," he said, and pushed his way into the cockpit.

The moon shone silver on the few people out and about this night. Blake strode quickly, head to the ground, a book clutched to her chest. She had spent most of the night thinking about her situation, and finally had a plan. She would talk to Weiss tonight, and Blake knew she would be arriving soon. Brushing a stray strand of hair from her eyes, she picked up her pace.

Weiss sighed deeply as she entered the courtyards of beacon. The streetlights lit up the slowly swaying plants, and small clusters of students talked to each other, forming a pleasant buzz of sound in the background. Weiss set her sights on the dorm and began walking quickly to it, hand swinging at her sides. At this point, Weiss was just eager to get back.

Blake suddenly appeared in front of her, and Weiss nearly collided with her. She held up a hand in surprise.

"Whoa, slow down, will you?" Weiss's voice was teasing, but Blake glared impatiently at her.

"I don't have time for jokes. We need to talk," and Blake grabbed Weiss wrist and pulled her around a hedge. Once they were around, she narrowed her eyes.

"What is this about?" Weiss was irritated, but not mad yet. Blake glanced from side to side, then leaned in.

"I've decided that lying to the rest of our team is wrong." Blake's gaze was hard, and Weiss's mouth opened slightly. "Fair warning, if you don't tell the rest of the team what your doing by eight o'clock tomorrow, I am." With that, she spun around and walked away, without waiting for a reply. Weiss reached for her and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again without saying anything. She lowered her hand to the ground.

Weiss walked slowly, back slumped, hand running across the cold wall of the dorm building. She let out a small sigh. She had no idea what to do. Blake was right, honestly. They _were_ a team, after all. But there was a part of Weiss that was adamant about secrecy. That only believed in herself.

She _would_ tell them, tomorrow evening. She needed to spin the story to suit her as much as possible, but that didn't change that this was truly a messy situation. At this point, though, she just wanted to sleep.

"Hey, Weiss?" The voice was soft, but unmistakably accented. Weiss looked up tiredly. Pyrrha stood in front of her, hands clasped at her waist. Her green eyes were tinted with a hint of apprehension. Pyrrha leaned her weight on one leg, then straightened it. Her eyes gazed into Weiss's.

Weiss stiffened her back, still leaning on the wall with one arm. Her eyes narrowed slightly, then cleared. "Yes, Pyrrha?" She fought to keep her thoughts out of her voice, barely succeeding. Pyrrha took a step forward.

"I wanted to ask you advice. About… what we talked about the other night." Weiss's gaze sharpened at that. She placed her hand on her hip, and lifted a bit off of the wall. She smiled as calmly as she could muster.

"What specifically about it?" Her voice was even. She was angry that Pyrrha hadn't told the rest of them about that. At this thought, Weiss let out a small noise. She was doing the same, but she didn't tell herself that. She felt a bitter taste in her mouth, and the smile faded from her lips. She looked down.

Pyrrha, fearing she'd one something wrong, reached out a hand and placed it on Weiss's shoulder. It rested gently against the fabric of her dress.

"Did I do something wrong?" Weiss looked up and met Pyrrha's gaze. Her vibrant green eyes were concerned and clear. So innocent, Weiss wanted to laugh. She shook her head slowly.

"No," Weiss said, and blinked. "Continue." Carefully, she lifted Pyrrha's hand and removed it from her shoulder. Pyrrha looked at her hands.

"I thought about what you said and… I want to tell everyone." Pyrrha looked proud of herself, and Weiss tilted her head to the side.

"What's the question?" Her voice was tired. Pyrrha smiled.

"When should I do it?" She was sincere, and Weiss almost laughed. That was the question? She kept her composure.

"Meet me tomorrow afternoon, at, oh, 5 o'clock with your team. I'll bring mine." Weiss thought her voice was serious enough, but Pyrrha frowned.

"I'm not sure we can call them 'our' teams. We're not the leaders." Pyrrha looked concerned, and Weiss waved a hand in the air.

"It's fine. We both hold secrets they don't, after a-" and raised a hand to cover her mouth. She realized her mistake, and began to shift her feet. She avoided Pyrrha's gaze, which had narrowed with suspicion.

"What's your secret?" Her voice was slow and clear. Weiss began to walk forward. "Tell you tomorrow," she said hastily, then pushed past Pyrrha and walked quickly down the hallway, mentally berating herself for the slip-up. She would have to tell team JNPR now, too. That wasn't part of the plan. She cursed.

Her scroll pinged. Sighing, she pulled it out and read the message, barely paying attention, but rapidly focusing when she saw the sender.

 _Meet me noon tomorrow. You know where. -C_


	10. Chapter 10

Weiss woke up early the next morning, far earlier than she usually would. She pushed up on her bed, and glanced the dark sky that lay beyond the window. Her sleep had been troubled that night. Her clothes that she had worn the previous day lay at the bed's foot, where she had been too tired to move them from. Her hair was unbound and fell across her shoulders.

Sighing, she dropped off of her bed and walked tiredly to the room's desk. Her bare feet made no sound on the floors carpeting. She turned, her hair swinging gently with the movement, and looked at the rest of her team. They were all asleep. Her gaze passed over Blake, who was lying with her face in a book, evidently having fallen asleep while reading it. As she moved her eyes, she saw Yang, laying sprawled across her bed, fingers twitching in her sleep. Closing her eyes for a moment, she turned at Pulling back the hard, cold wood of the chair, she dropped into it. She slumped forward and picked up a pen, twirling it glumly with her fingers.

She had a lot of assignments due today, and she had been putting them off, and now had to do them all this morning. In her defense, she thought to herself as she selected papers, she had had far more important things to do.

She shifted in the chair, then bent further over the desk and began pouring over papers. She worked with feverish concentration, which came partly from her worry about the day. Having so much to do, she didn't want to add another problem to that, and the work was fairly easy anyway.

When she finished, she let out a breath and leaned back in the chair. She looked at the clock. It was six thirty in the morning. Today she had school, but Cinder had requested a meeting. It would be necessary to attend that to keep up appearances. She briefly debated mentally what was more important, than chuckled quietly to herself. Wasn't it obvious?

"Something funny?" The voice was quiet, and smooth, basically a whisper. Weiss turned her head to see Blake looking at her. She was lying in bed on her side. She had moved her book to the chair next to her. Her yellow eyes were bleary with sleep, indicating she had just woken up.

Weiss matched her tone to Blake's. "You wouldn't get it." She didn't want to wake up the rest of the team with extensive conversation. Blake smiled.

"Tell me and let me see for myself." She was whispering, but Weiss could hear the humor in her voice. Weiss shook her head playfully.

"Nope," she whispered, and Blake smiled. She stood up and walked over to the desk, leaning over Weiss to see what she was working on. She raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't this due today?" When Weiss nodded, Blake shook her head slowly. "That's not the Weiss I know. What were you doing last night?" Her tone was warm, but Weiss jerked her head at Ruby and Yang. "Later," she hissed, and Blake sobered up.

"Of course," Blake sobered up immediately. She straightened her back. "Call me if you need me. I'll be reading." She walked away from Weiss.

Weiss held her head in her hands. She would pretend to be sick today. Get Ruby or one of the others to turn in her work today, so she could meet Cinder. The only problem was convincing them. For once, she was grateful Blake had forced her hand. She could sway them with the promise of answers.

With a plan set in mind, Weiss smiled.

Yang stretched her arm, arching her back like a cat as she let out a huge yawn. "Tell me why you would possible want to pretend you're sick?" Her voice was bored and uninterested. Ruby chimed in from where she was polishing crescent rose, sticking her head up and saying

"Yeah, that's not the Weiss I know," she said, and then looked down at her weapon. "You'd never skip class." Weiss tapped her fingers on the desk. She had barely moved in the hour it had taken for the others to wake up and prepare themselves, in fact only to get herself ready.

"I can't tell you now. Tonight. I'll send you the time in an hour." She settled back into the chair. "Do this one thing for me?" She attempted to make her face as sad as possible. It was a cheap emotional tactic, but with Yang, it worked."

Yang looked around the room. "I mean, I can hardly refuse, because you guys have done this for me tons of times-" she glared at Ruby as she interrupted her.

Ruby raised a finger. "Actually, that's not true," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Blake and I did it. Weiss told the teachers what you were doing." She put her finger down and returned to polishing Crescent Rose, lovingly stroking it and murmuring under her breath.

Weiss cast an angry look at Ruby, then returned to Yang, who had an indifferent look on her face. "Please," she asked. "I really need this,"

Yang cast a confused look at her. "But school is so important to you! Why the sudden change? I think a visit by teachers might help revert you to your old self." She added meaningfully, then got up. She looked at Blake.

"What's your opinion on this, Blake? You've been oddly quiet," and Blake looked, startled, at Yang's address. She uncertainty smoothed back her hair.

"I - ah- don't have an opinion. It's not my concern." Weiss watched interestedly. She knew, so she wondered why she wasn't supporting her. Weiss had met her demands, after all.

Yang looked back at Weiss. "I won't force you to do anything, but expect Glynda to stop by in a little bit." She smiled as Ruby chimed in with,

"What she said!" She got up and strapped her scythe her back. Yang turned to the door. "Well, I have classes to make it to. See you when Glynda sends you there, like she did with me all those times." Yang pushed open the door and strode purposefully through, Blake and Ruby close behind her.

Weiss lay on her back, sheets soft and yielding beneath her. Her hair sprawled on her pillows, she absently tapped at her scroll she held above her head. She was writing some notes on what to say that night. She couldn't sound unprepared. If that was so, they would all think she was reluctant. There were many pitfalls in that direction.

A soft knock came at the door. Sighing, Weiss rolled off her bed and landed on her feet with a soft thump on the carpeted floor. She padded across towards the door, head still lost in her thoughts as she pulled it open.

Her focused sharpened suddenly when she looked through. Glynda stood there, an irritated look plastered on her face. She tapped her ever-present crop on her hip,and held her PDA to her chest, frowning as she read some document. As she watched, Glynda looked up quickly.

"Yang told me that you were pretending you were sick," Glynda said, not really paying attention, glaring at the door frame. "As she often does," she muttered to herself. "Kids these days. Such hypocrites. Anyways," she added abruptly, turning her smoldering eyes to Weiss, "I can tell that you're not. And don't try me," she added harshly as Weiss opened her mouth to speak. Wisely, Weiss held her tongue.

The stern teacher sighed resignedly. "Now, unlike Yang, you are usually an excellent student. Hardly on my nerves. So if you can give me a valid reason why you wanted to skip class, I'll let you get away with it." She tapped a few commands into her PDA. "Otherwise, there will be consequences for your attempts to skip class."

Weiss leaned against the doorframe, her head tilted to the sky in thought. She really couldn't tell Glynda about what she was doing. The more people who knew, the easier it was for a secret to break. And it was likely Ozpin wouldn't tell her. He informed Qrow. That should have been enough for him.

Glynda cut into the cloud of Weiss's thoughts, once again grounding her in the present. "Any time now," she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. "I don't have all day, so, an answer, if you would. I'm beginning to suspect a punishment will be in order." She did not sound particularly annoyed at the fact.

"Why don't you just let it go, Glynda."

Both instructor and student turned in surprise to an unexpected interruption. Ozpin stood, confident in his laziness, leaning on the cane he always carried with him. It's tip reflected the sun with a sheen Weiss had not noticed before.

Glynda looked confused. "I'm sorry? I think I misheard you," she said, fierce expression gone as she talked to her superior. Ozpin gestured slightly with his cane, a knowing look on his face.

"You heard me perfectly well, Glynda. You have other duties, so why don't you drop the matter and let me talk to Weiss." Weiss looked gratefully at Ozpin, leaning on one leg as she became more comfortable with the situation.

Glynda looked annoyed. "As you wish." She nodded curtly and brushed passed him, striding quickly down the hall. Before she left, she turned and said "You and I will discuss this later, Professor."

Ozpin nodded kindly at her, then turned to Weiss. "Can we go inside?" He asked, then smiled kindly. "I'm afraid my old bones can't handle standing for too long." Weiss gestured in with a sweep of her hand, and stepped to the side of the doorway.

"As you wish," she said, voice grateful for Ozpin's intervention. Ozpin walked into the room, leaning on his cane perhaps a bit more than usual. He picked a chair and settled into it, sighing in relief as he lowered himself into it.

Weiss let go of the door and allowed it to close, clasping her hands uncertainty in front of her. Her finger tapped against one hand.

"Why are you here, exactly?" The uncertainty in her voice was palpable, although Weiss reasoned she should have a better idea of what was going on. There was only one thing Ozpin would visit her personally, after all.

"What are you doing today?" The question was posed innocently, but Weiss knew exactly what he meant. She resisted sighing with relief, and instead began to pace the room.

"It seems Cinder has… _ordered_ me to meet her. Noon. I should leave in," here she pulled out her scroll to check the time, "half an hour." Ozpin nodded sagely.

"Interesting. Best of luck to you. Now, I've been wondering," he said evenly, and pushed up his glasses. "Why have you not used your little bug in the camera system?"

Weiss started. "It's still there?" She pushed some buttons on her scroll and brought it up, and sure enough, she still had full access. "I would have assumed you'd take it down. Color me surprised." She continued browsing through cameras.

Ozpin stood up and walked over to where she stood. "Your mission is important, more than you might think." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "It is in my best interests to make sure that it succeeds."

Weiss glanced at her scroll yet again to check the time. She stood outside the warehouse where, that fateful evening, she had met Cinder for the first time. In daylight, it seemed much less intimidating. The streets around it remained devoid as that first night, although the sun's bright light illuminated much that was previously hidden to her.

The alley was really quite decrepit. Crumbling bricks lined the walls of a few abandoned buildings. Piles of trash heaped against the walls, and looked ready to collapse.

 _5 minutes._ That was all she had until noon. Surveying quickly the distances between her and the entrance, she supposed it could take five minutes. Sighing, she began to walk slowly towards the entrance, dragging her feet.

It was possible that Cinder had surveillance around the area. In fact, Weiss deemed it likely. This in mind, she straightened her back sharply. Adopting an unreadable expression, she pressed forward at a renewed pace, fighting anxiety at every step.

The old hinges creaked softly as Weiss pushed open the weathered door to the building. Last time she had been here, there was nothing in sight as she gazed in. Now, she could see several things previously hidden in the dark. The massive crates still littered the place, but she could see signs of occupation. Chairs and tables were scattered around the building, clustered near the boxes. All except one.

In front of a box, two chairs with a small wooden table between them stood. The furniture was plain, wood with little adornment. In the chair facing her sat Cinder.

She lounged with the confidence of a general, one leg crossed over the other. In one hand was a glass of wine.

As Weiss looked around, Cinder locked eyes with her. The burning intensity of them held her as she slowly raised the glass to her lips. She tilted her head back and took a sip, in doing so gesturing to Weiss to come forward with two fingers, a gesture that spoke worlds about her arrogance.

Weiss walked uncertainty forward, heels clicking in just the same manner as when she had come here, hilt gripping her blade, around a week before. Weiss still found it hard to believe it had only been that long.

As she got close, Cinder looked up. She gestured imperiously at the seat opposite her. "Have a seat," she said, voice soft but with blades hidden within it. Weiss pulled back the chair, the legs scraping loudly against the concrete floor, and perched on the edge, back straight, hands clasped in her lap.

Weiss cleared her throat. "If I may be so bold as to ask," she began, and noticing the approving note in Cinder's eyes, continued, "Why exactly was I brought here?" Weiss leaned forward slightly with this question. Cinder glanced up, then leaned in towards the table.

"Drink," her voice was warm, but forced, and she gestured at a glass of wine in front of Weiss. Weiss looked at the glass and wrinkled her nose. She placed a hand on the table.

"I generally don't drink wine," Weiss said, then jumped slightly in her seat. This was Cinder she was talking to. It would not do to be insolent with her around, but Weiss reasoned that some confidence would not go amiss. "It hampers my performance." Weiss put as much bravado as she could muster into her tone.

Cinder smiled with the corner of her mouth. She took another sip of her wine, then placed the glass on the table. "I agree," she said, raising an eyebrow, "but sometimes I just can't help myself." Weiss nodded.

"If I may get back to my original question, why am I here?" Cinder frowned at Weiss's question.

"A little more respect, please," Cinder said in a mocking tone, and Weiss moved her head back, bringing one hand up to her mouth. "Forgive me," she said, genuinely sorry. She did not wish to jeopardise her mission. At her response, however, Cinder merely laughed, waving a hand as she did so.

"Don't worry," she said, eyes dancing. "I just wanted to brief you on the situation. Personally." Her eyes lost their spark, and her expression turned dark. Weiss fiddled with her hands in her lap, uncertain about the change.

Cinder clenched one hand into a fist on the table. "Two days. Then, we move on the prison." Her tone was cold, and Weiss's eyes widened in surprise, and Cinder's mouth quirked into half smile. "No need to wait," she added, somewhat teasingly. "Anyway, you and I will meet in this warehouse, let's say, 10 tommorow. Night. The prisoners already know the deal. We bring the equipment, drop it off, and then blow open the gates." Cinder lit a fire in one palm. Her eyes glowed. "Simple."

Weiss nodded, eyes narrowing. "Alright," she said, then began to push her chair back. "If that's all, then I'll just leave and…" Cinder cut her off with a wave of her hand, extinguishing the flame in the process.

"That's not all." Her voice was slow, and clear. Weiss settled back into her chair, looking expectantly at Cinder. She did not wait long before continuing. "I have…" here she paused, "A master. One that very few know about. And I want to know," here she paused. She stared intensely at Weiss, who looked back with her mouth a small o. "If I can trust you to help me take her throne."

Weiss returned Cinder's gaze, mind working intensely. Since her allegiance was fake anyway, she reasoned there was no reason not to continue the charade of loyalty to Cinder.

Weiss faked hesitation, then smiled. "I don't see why not."

Weiss strolled leisurely down the bustling streets of Vale, heading in the vague direction of Beacon. There was no hurry, and she stopped to admire many of the intriguing sights the metropolis had to offer. This was not the city of her birth, after all.

Around her, people talked quietly amongst themselves. A group of children were playing off to one side, laughing as they did so. Weiss smiled. People like these was what huntsmen and huntresses fought to protect.

Then, Weiss sighed, and turned her thoughts to the meeting with Cinder. The smiled faded from her lips. She was certain of one thing: Cinder was not to be trusted. At all. The part about her having a master was likely true. That would make sense. But any thoughts of disloyalty on her part were not something Weiss suspected she would confess in _her._ She hadn't really earned that, and so there must be something more to it. But she couldn't see it. She ground her teeth in frustration.

Weiss's scroll pinged. Curious, she pulled it out of her pocket. A text message, with an anonymous sender. It read just one word. _Aspire._

Fingers moving with the ease of long practice, Weiss tapped in her response. This sender would have no desire for a vocal call, and besides, Weiss had no wish to broadcast anything to the public. She began to walk towards a corner less crowded than the rest of those around her.

Weiss tapped the send button. Her message read _Ascend. What do you need?_ Weiss leaned against the wall of a building behind her. Angling her scroll to minimize the chance of pedestrians seeing it, she did not have to wait long for the reply to come. _Heard you had a meeting with you-know-who today. What transpired?_ Weiss thought about exactly how she should phrase what she said. She still was not entirely sure how much she could trust Neo.

Then she chuckled quietly to herself. She was paranoid, that was all. She needed _some_ allies. Still smiling slightly, she entered her response, fingers flying over the keys. _Discussed plans for the prison. Break-out scheduled for two days from now._

Leaning more into the wall, Weiss looked up from her scroll to glance around. No one seemed to be paying her undue attention, and nothing seemed overtly suspicious. Her scroll vibrated, and Weiss returned her gaze to the device in her hand.

 _Can't let that happen. I assume you have a plan?_ Weiss frowned. She hadn't thought about that, although now looking at it, she realized that she could use her newly enlightened team to help out with it. This in mind, she typed her response. _Yes. You should stay out, in case it fails. Anything else?_

Weiss's fingers moved unconsciously across the cold metal of the scroll as she waited for the next message. Pushing herself off of the wall, she began to stride back down the streets. She really shouldn't linger that long.

 _Of course. And one more thing: turns out Cinder locked away Mercury and Emerald because they were disloyal. I was just looking at Mercury's files. Thought you might find that interesting._

The message sobered Weiss up a bit. She had, then, helped Cinder. That was unfortunate, but it was something that she had anticipated. There was no way to conjure trust out of nothing.

Weiss glanced for the fourth time at her scroll, checking the time once again. 5:00. She sighed deeply. It was the time she'd been dreading. She glanced over her surroundings. She was in yet another isolated corner of the massive courtyard that sprawled in front of beacon. She had only found this one by seeing the entrance in security camera footage. Two benches faced each other across the kingdom's symbol engraved in the ground.

Weiss poured over her notes for what she was going to say. It was important that she didn't mess anything up, after all, this was her team she was going to be risking losing all of their trust. It didn't sit well with her. _And_ she'd have to tell team JNPR, unless she could find a way around it. She slumped a fraction.

As if on cue, Pyrrha appeared from around the corner. Weiss straightened, and put away her scroll. She waved a hand at Pyrrha, smiling at her. Pyrrha waved back, then walked forward and chose a spot on the bench opposite Weiss, settling in contentedly. She looked around, then turned her gaze to Weiss.

"I had a bit of trouble finding this place. Will the rest of us be able to locate it without any trouble?" Pyrrha, apparently, was invested in telling her secret. If only Weiss could find the same.

To Pyrrha, she shook her head. "They shouldn't have any trouble. I sent my team detailed directions. I assume you did the same?" She posed the last bit as a question, and Pyrrha nodded.

"Yeah, I just worry, I guess." They both turned to the entrance at the sound of footsteps. The two watched as Blake strode through, eyes locked on a book she was reading. When she reached the center of the area, she folded the book closed and took a seat next to Weiss. Pyrrha looked at her.

Blake didn't stop looking around the vegetation-infested square. "Yeah," she said, voice calm and collected. "I know Weiss's story, but I'm excited to hear yours." The statement evidently surprised Pyrrha, who said to Blake.

"You know Weiss's? Does the rest of your team know?" There was a hint of accusation in her voice, but Blake shook her head calmly. "No."

She met the red-haired warrior's gaze. "None of them know anything, and it was a stretch for Weiss to tell me, I would think." She glanced questioningly at Weiss, who reluctantly nodded.

She opened her mouth to speak, but they were interrupted by the arrival of a rather flustered Jaune.

"Hey, uh, guys, Pyrrha told me to meet here, to ah, tell a secret. I wasn't aware there would be others, though," he said, bouncing on his feet uncertainty. Pyrrha smiled. "I'll explain in a moment. Let's just wait for everyone to get here." She patted the spot on the bench next to her, and Jaune sat down.

Blake picked at one of her nails. She looked at Jaune. "Any idea of where the others are?" She didn't really sound interested, but Jaune leaned forward.

"No, but, ah, maybe I could call to find out -" He stopped as Yang strode into the clearing, Ruby in tow, saying cheerfully "Hello! Guess who has a new arm?" She flexed her arms, one real, and one a new mechanical limb. It was steel, wires visible running across the surface. On the hand, Yang had painted her insignia. Over both wrists she wore Ember Celica.

Weiss tilted her head heavily to one side. "Nice arm, Yang. Nice that you managed to find one so quickly." She pulled out her purse. "If it was expensive, I can help cover the cost. We have plenty of money." She shuffled through the notes in it, then put it away.

Yang smiled. "No worries," she said, then walked to Blake. "Whaddya think?" Yang flexed the robot arm again, twisting her wrist. Blake chuckled.

"I think you could have been a bit more modest about it. Most people with limbs like that would cover them up." Blake sounded bored, but she smiled as she said it. Yang punched her playfully.

"Oh, you like it," she said teasingly, then sat down next to Blake, smiling with her eyes. She gestured to Ruby. "Hey sis," she said, beckoning with one finger. "I need to tell you something, come here." She laughed, putting a hand up to cover her mouth.

"Ah- okay," Ruby said hesitantly, then ambled over to where Yang lounged, sitting on the edge of the bench. Yang leaned over to whisper something into her ear. Weiss turned back to look at the bushes.

Nora pushed through the bushes, smiling as ever, Ren behind her. "Sorry we're late," he said, panting softly. He gestured with one hand. "Nora wanted to do some schoolwork at the last moment. Like she does." Nora sighed, and placed a hand on her hip. "It's been _two minutes._ That's not late, that's _on time._ " She strode over to where Pyrrha sat. Ren raised a finger.

"In fact, it was two minutes and 47 seconds. And on a meaningful meeting like this, it is important to be punctual." Nora placed her head in her hands, and was about to speak when Ruby burst out with laughter, literally shaking with convulsions. Yang next to her was in a similar state.

Everyone present turned to face the two. Yang waved a hand in the air. "Don't worry. It's - not you," she said, laughing even harder as she said it. Ruby covered her mouth with one hand. "Just a really good joke," she said, between bits of laughter.

Weiss sighed. "What could possibly be so funny," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Nora tilted her head to one side. "Whatever it is, you have to tell me," she said, devilish smile on her face. "I'm feeling left out!"

Pyrrha cleared her throat noisily, but it was Ren who spoke.

"Excuse me, but we're here for a reason. So if everyone would pay attention, why don't we let Pyrrha tell her story." He accompanied this with a glare at Yang and Ruby, still laughing to themselves.

Ruby, mortified, sobered up and covered her mouth. "Oh, -ah, sorry!" She said, smiling cheerfully. "It was just really funny and, well, you know - " Weiss cut her off impatiently.

"It's fine. Now, if we could all pay attention, Pyrrha could explain why she brought us here." Her tone brooked little argument, and Yang decided then to stop laughing.

Pyrrha again cleared her throat. Though she had seemed confident in the hall last night, her tone was hesitant as she began to speak. Weiss had to admit, she was a good storyteller. As she weaved her tale, telling them essentially what she had told Weiss in the hallway, Nora only interrupted twice, which Weiss thought must have been some sort of record.

When she was finished, everyone but Weiss was staring at her. Weiss herself was looking at the sky, desperately trying to think of a way to get rid of team JNPR before she had to tell her own story.

Nora was the first person to speak. She looked at Pyrrha, eyes wide, head resting in her hands. "So you knew all that," she said, head turned as she said it, "and you never told us? Why? It's not like it would hurt us to know!" She was evidently angry, and Ren nodded his head sternly in agreement with his friend.

Jaune stared, mouth slightly open, working without making a sound. Ruby was much the same, evidently disbelieving. Yang looked extremely interested. Blake leaned over to Weiss, hair swinging languidly, and whispered in her ear.

"That's it? You told me that much about what you were doing." Weiss nodded, distracted, and Blake turned to Pyrrha, who herself was forcing a smile.

She nodded uncertainly to Nora. "Look, can we discuss this later?" she glanced quickly at Weiss, returning her gaze to her orange-haired teammate almost instantly, but Weiss caught the message. She didn't to reveal her involvement in the whole thing.

Weiss gave her a fraction of a nod, then focused on Team JNPR, sitting on their bench in various positions. Her eyes narrowed. "That will be all," she said, her voice cold and businesslike. "Pyrrha, my team, please stay. I have… an arrangement to discuss with you four." They all nodded, and Ren, Nora, and Jaune stood up. Nora waved a hand jauntily. They began walking around the corner, Ren turning to cast back

"Pyrrha, tonight you _will_ explain everything." She nodded firmly, and Ren spun to follow his teammates out of the clearing. From around the corner, those still sitting could her Jaune exclaiming "Hey! Stop that," and Nora giggling incessantly. Weiss chuckled, as did Pyrrha.

She looked up. Pyrrha's gaze had grown hard. She tilted her head, and calmly folded her hands on her lap. Intense green eyes locked on Weiss, she said sternly to her

"It's your turn." Weiss looked down, and sighed deeply. Yang looked askance at her.

"What, Weiss, you have a story too? Is it as good as Pyrrha's?" Ruby, who had lay down on the bench, head propped up on one hand, added "And as cool?" She smiled in excitement.

Weiss slumped forward. "It's - It's complicated, and not exactly easy for me to tell you." She looked up, eyes begging, at the rest. Blake rolled her eyes.

"She wasn't going to tell you at all. I had to force her." Quick as a snake, Weiss snapped up, glaring at Blake.

"We agreed you wouldn't tell them that," she said, tone ice. Blake shook her head slowly.

"No we didn't. Nice try, though," she said evenly. Weiss looked back down. "It was worth a shot," she said, then sighed again.

"Okay," she said, then looked up. She straightened her back. "Here are the basics. So, about, I think… week ago, I saw a tracer program on a message Pyrrha sent." Here, Yang raised a finger.

"A what?" She voiced the question like it should be obvious that no one knew what that was. It was Blake who answered.

"It's like a parasite." She placed one hand over the other. "A malware that latches on to something and uses it to infest a new host." Weiss nodded gratefully, then continued.

"Anyway, so I decided to investigate. I figured out the general purpose, and I was going to send a report to Ozpin when I realized something else I could do with it." Here, Pyrrha looked concerned.

"Is the program still on my scroll?" She pulled said device out and began to tap it. Weiss shook her head, hair swaying in the wind.

"No. We removed it a could days ago. As I was saying, I decided to send a message to the source. Ask if… ask if I could join them. So I could spy on the enemy, you know?" She added on the last part quickly, eager to make sure that her friends did not take the statement the wrong way. They all nodded slowly, Yang first to do so. "Cool," Ruby said, eyes intent on Weiss as she listened to her story.

Weiss sighed, then continued. "And I went on for a couple of days, doing some work here and there to gain her trust. Until I told Blake. Just after your trial, Yang." She added, nodding her head in Yang's direction. Yang gave her a thumbs up, but Ruby looked confused.  
"Why then?" she asked, and Weiss sighed deeply. She closed her eyes. "I - I felt guilty." She opened her eyes. "Because, well," she began, but Blake interrupted her.

She was sitting with her knees gripped in her arms. "She was the one who dropped the metal on your arm, Yang." Her tone was solemn.

"It was on accident," Weiss cut in quickly, fingers twisting in her lap. "I was fighting some white fang on a nearby building, and I thought you three were members. So I attacked. Didn't realize it was you until I heard how you lost your arm."

She stared at Yang, eyes pleading for forgiveness. "I know I don't deserve it, but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." She sat utterly still.

Yang met her gaze for a moment, then shrugged. The yellow-haired fighter turned away.

"Honestly? I'm not even mad. You thought you were doing what was right. And besides, I kind of like having this arm," she said, clenching her mechanical arm into a fist for emphasis. "Just wait until you see me fight with it," she said, smiling fiercely. The five of them all laughed.

"I might be able to provide you with an opportunity for that," she said, growing serious. She smiled confidently. "Our enemy plans to make a move in two days. With my intel, we can stop it. Let's talk about this more tomorrow. Providing you're all in?" she said, looking at each one of them in turn. They all nodded, except Pyrrha, who put her chin in her hand. She tilted her hand from side to side, then said "I'll consider it."

Weiss turned to face her team. "Have fun tonight. I need to do something else here." The three nodded, and left, Ruby talking to Yang. Weiss glanced at Pyrrha and flipped up her thumb. Pyrrha smiled, and pushed herself off the bench. She grinned at Weiss.

"My thanks for not making me the only one to share a secret tonight." With that, she left, a spring in her step.

Weiss settled back into the bench. Her face grew serious, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Wherever you are, Ozpin, come out," she called with a seemingly bored tone into the amassed greenery, but her eyes scanned the bushes with intensity.

After a moment, Weiss heard a rustling, and Ozpin pushed his way past a piece of greenery. He leaned on his cane with one arm, bringing the other up to take a sip from his steaming mug. He looked at Weiss.

"Out of curiosity, how did you know I was here?" Weiss shrugged at the question.

"You always are. Figured it was just a matter of calling you out. If I may ask, why are you spying on your students?" Her tone was scathing, but Ozpin merely straightened his back.

"I don't always. But you were talking about matters important to the safety of this kingdom. And I take that very seriously." He leaned forward, eyes boring into Weiss.

Weiss pursed her lips, then nodded. She didn't meet Ozpin's gaze, but instead turned to her scroll. She began absently typing in a few commands. "Good answer," she said. Ozpin lessened the pressure of his gaze.

"How did you meeting with Cinder go today? Anything interesting to report?" Weiss looked up at the sky.

"Besides what you heard while eavesdropping? Just one thing. Cinder mentioned some sort of master." At the last word, Ozpin's gaze hardened. He took a step forward.

"A master?" His tone had taken on a strange intensity. "What did she say, exactly? Her words." Something told Weiss this was more than a casual question.

She twirled a finger through her hair uncertainty. "She said that she had a master most didn't know about. And asked if I would help… take her throne. Her words." Ozpin shook his head slowly. "I assume you said yes: to maintain relations." When Weiss nodded hesitantly, he sighed deeply. He leaned more of his weight on his cane.

"Truly you have entered the world of serpents. Meet me in my office tomorrow morning. We need to discuss your next steps. Like it or not, you are one of the elite now. That knowledge means one of things. You either help us," she said, rising from his slump, and turning to walk away. As he did, he said, voice menacing, "Or you fight us. Choose wisely. See me tomorrow, eight o'clock. Tell none of your friends about the leader. Or team. Or they will have to make the same choice, and unlike you, I fear they are not ready. Good night."


	11. Chapter 11

Weiss stood alone in the elevator. The silence around her was dark and oppressive. Machinery worked in the background, but the sound faded in Weiss's ears. If she was honest with herself, she was scared.

Her hand tightened around the hilt of Myrtenaster. Last night, Ozpin had been stormy and intense. What exactly had she gotten into? The question plagued her mind as she paced back and forth across the surface of the lift, eyebrows drawn together. All that had happened was she learned about some kind of leader. She mused to herself what could be so important about that.

The elevator dinged it's arrival, and Weiss snapped to face the door, hands clasped behind her back, hands straight. As the doors opened, Weiss surveyed the room. Ozpin sat at his desk, eyes fixed on the doorway in which Weiss stood, hands on the desk in front of him. His drink was nowhere to be seen. That, more than anything, unnerved Weiss.

Qrow leaned against a nearby pillar, grinning out of the side of his mouth.

Clearing her face of emotion, Weiss strode towards the desk, where a chair sat in front of Ozpin. Unconsciously, she imitated Ironwood's generals walks that she had observed as a child. When she sat down, Qrow rolled his eyes.

"This one thinks she's military. Figures." He took a long pull from his canteen. That, at least was the same as it always was. Ozpin sighed.

"Qrow, please, she is about to go through a lot. Leave off." His gaze never left Weiss's eyes, which widened slightly. "What do I have to experience?" She asked haltingly. Ozpin looked down. After a moment, he tilted his eyes to meet Weiss.

"You are now vulnerable to all sorts of... Unfavorable things. Simply learning of her exposes you to that." Her tapped the desk absently. "I suppose I should explain. Long ago, there was a golden age for humanity. One where we nearly had the Grimm wiped out." His hand clenched into a fist. "Remnant prospered. People could move freely. The world was united as one nation, not four disparate kingdoms. But the leadership… got a little too ambitious. They instituted programs… that were questionable ethically. Experiments on Grimm. One went horribly wrong. It created what was in essence a demon."

Qrow made a slight noise. Both Weiss and Ozpin turned to face him. He stood, eyes accusing, mouth slightly open. "Why'd you never tell me this? He gestured angrily with his canteen. "Wasn't the right time?" His voice was accusatory.

Ozpin nodded. "Yes," he said simply, then turned back to Weiss, then sighing at the look of anger on Qrow's face.

"No one needed to know. Until now. So listen." He cast a stern look at Qrow, who backed down, resentment in the lines of his face. Ozpin continued to talk. "As I was saying, there was a... _mistake_. She is the master Cinder spoke of. Preserved by darkness for thousands of years, powering the grimm to destroy everything. So the leaders made a decision. They decided to wipe all of what had caused the problem out in the first place. Their civilization. Everything erased from history, buried so deep down you couldn't find it if you looked for decades."

Weiss raised a finger. Hesitantly, she asked, "This is all very interesting, but how can we trust this is real. Forgive me, but you could just be a rambling old man." Ozpin nodded sagely.

"I suspected you would ask that. So I have a demonstration, a little trinket left from their era." He pulled a small cube out of his pocket, and tossed into the center of the room. He gestured at Qrow, accompanying the gesture with an odd crossing of fingers.

He nodded at Qrow. "Think of someone you would like to see." Qrow nodded, then narrowed his eyes. Almost immediately, a lifelike rendition of a young woman in a white cloak appeared above the cube. Her hood covered most of her face, but what Weiss could see of her features reminded her of Ruby.

"Hey Qrow," the apparition said, nodding at a Qrow that leaned against a pillar in shock. He looked at Ozpin. "How does it know what I'm thinking?" His gaze slowly shifted back to the apparition in wonder, closely followed by Weiss's. With a gesture of Ozpin's fingers, the cube shut off. Both Weiss and Qrow's gaze snapped back to Ozpin.

"Why'd you do that?" Qrow's voice was more slurred than usual. He took a pull of his canteen. Weiss narrowed her eyes at Ozpin.

"Where did you get that? I get that this is history, but _why do you have it?_ "

Ozpin sighed. "Because I am the last remnant of that civilization. I may look old, but trust me, I am far older than I seem. I was… preserved, so that the knowledge of my people did not die with them."

Qrow leaned lazily on the wall of the elevator, watching the floors tick down on the display. Weiss stood uncomfortably beside him.

"Hard to imagine, right?" Qrow's tone indicated that there was no need to explain what he was talking about. Weiss nodded absently. "I mean, the whole maidens thing was bad, but this?" He gestured with one hand helplessly. "Learning there's a whole history you never knew about."  
Weiss focused on him. "It's not really that hard to believe." She looked at the ground and began to count with her fingers. "Our civilization has so much technology, but the precursors aren't there. Haven't you ever noticed there was no progression in our history?"

Qrow looked at her curiously. "I was never much for history. What do you mean?" Weiss looked up at him.

"When I was growing up in Atlas, I would always have a lot of time on my hands. And I would read. My father wasn't one for novels, he wouldn't even let us keep any around the house. Now, my sister and I loved to read. So we would sneak novels in for each other, and go through them like lightning." She sighed. "That was rarely. Mostly, we had to read stuff my father approved. So we read history. And while I did it, the technology was always the same. Now, there were different models, but there were always androids. Always scrolls. And if you talk to an engineer, they never know how what they do works. Just that it does. I should know, father always had someone in."

Weiss jerked in surprise as the elevator doors slid open. Looking side to side, she walked forward quickly. "Good day," she cast behind herself to Qrow.

Weiss, Blake, and Ruby sat in seats far from the stage in Glynda's classroom. Ruby was talking animatedly to Blake about some movie she had seen recently, no matter that Blake said nothing back. Weiss leaned lazily into her seat, hands resting on the sides. On the wooden stage, Yang stretched.

It was her first practice match, first fight, since the incident with her arm, and from the fierce look on her face, she did not intend to lose. Opposite her stood Ren, standing still, with his weapons in hand at his sides. He rolled his neck, and gave a respectful half bow to Yang, who said something Weiss' couldn't hear from where she sat.

The stage darkened, and gauges measuring each combatant's aura appeared on either side of the stage. Talking that ran through the auditorium slowly ground to a halt, with Ruby being no exception. If there was one thing that kids at Beacon loved, it was a good fight, and they were certainly about to get that.

The instant the signal rang, Yang was flipping in the air, bringing her leg down with a crack on the ground where Ren had stood a second before. Firing as he went, Ren swung one of his blades in an overhead slash at Yang, the other raised protectively.

Yang made as if to punch high with one arm, and, when Ren raised his blade up, taking the bait, punched him in the gut, ducking gracefully under his attack. Ren flew back but flipped quickly and landed on his feet.

"Like a cat," Ruby whispered to Blake, who glared at her. Weiss smiled, and steepled her fingers.

Yang was swinging her robotic arm at Ren in a wide arc, a savage grin plastered across her face. Ren ducked, sweeping his leg under Yangs and knocking her off her feet in one huge movement. Yang, a small noise leaving her lips, fired Ember Celica straight down, flipping backwards with its momentum. She landed one foot in front of the other, hands poised to strike. She raised her robot arm to block follow-up fire spewing from Ren's guns, swinging the other at him. He ducked, taking a swipe with his blade at Yang, who grabbed the weapon. She threw it behind her, then brought Ember Celica around and fired a shot at Ren, bypassing his hasty guard with ease.

Weiss glanced lazily at the Aura screen. As she looked, Ren's dropped beneath the threshold. Smiling out of the corner of her mouth, Weiss turned to watch Yang walking down the aisle, who was nodding to friends in seats near as she walked.

She plopped down in the seat next to Ruby, and stretched her arms comically wide.

"Nice job, sis," she said, then rubbed her hands together gleefully. "You arm works well, it would seem." Yang gave her a thumbs up with said arm.

"It's perfect. Better than my old one!" She exclaimed, then frowned. "But it looks awful. Who likes a piece of metal, anyway?" She sighed, and shifted the thing a little away from her. Weiss looked down.

"It's a shame your real one had to go." Blake placed a hand on Yang's flesh arm. "But it's not how it looks that matters. It's how you use it." Ruby nodded, and Yang smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks, I guess. I just… don't really feel whole." The smile faded as she looked back at her arm.

Weiss tried to make herself as small as possible.

Across the table from Weiss, Winter took a small sip from her elaborate tea cup. She placed it on the ornate holder with a soft click. She leaned in, a somewhat warm smile on her face. She gestured with one hand as she spoke to Weiss.

"Anything else interesting to talk about? Ozpin told me you were up to something interesting," she added, raising one eyebrow suggestively. "Care to tell me what that's about?" The two chuckled.

Weiss opened her palm, moving slightly as she spoke. "Nothing so very interesting. I'd love to tell you, but I'm afraid I'm sworn not to say anything. Sorry." She picked up her own tea and took a sip, gazing into it's depths.

Winter and her had met about an hour ago for tea, because she was in the area. They were in a nice enough private restaurant, Weiss supposed, looking around herself. Unlike her previous visit, however, there was no greenery in sight. The place was marble, with few windows, flickering candlelight covering the hesitation in Weiss's eyes.

"What have you been up to, Winter?" She folded her hands on the table in front of her and gazed at her sister curiously.

Winter's smile widened. "One or two things. Most of them were boring, though. Politics. Atlas has to show off its agents." The last part was sarcastic, and Weiss rolled her eyes at it.

"Of course. Standard military. So tell me about what _was_ interesting." Weiss leaned forward, tracing one finger along the tip of her tea cup. Winter tapped her fingers on the table.

"Well, I suppose the reason I'm here is interesting. I'm not supposed to tell you about it, but," she said, looking around, then bringing her head closer to Weiss's, "I'm sure you can be... discreet." Weiss nodded eagerly at her sister.

"So I'm here to investigate…" she stopped suddenly as a waiter arrived, taking a plate that had had fruit away from the two. They remained silent, looking everywhere but at the Waiter. Winter's fingers beat a little faster on the table.

As soon as the man left, Winter continued. "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted," she said, casting a glare in the direction of the waiter, "I'm here to investigate rumors. Apparently, authorities found an anomaly in a nearby prison. Little holes in the roof. I can't possibly imagine their significance." She accompanied this with a soft chuckle. Weiss's throat dried up. She nodded, eyes roaming Winter's face. "Yeah," she said, weakly. If Winter found her out, without knowing her motives, it would spell her end. Yet Winter was not loyal to her. She couldn't trust her with a secret.

Winter looked on interestedly at Weiss. The candles cast a pattern of ever-shifting shadows across her face, eyes intense blue orbs radiating from her face.

"Oh? Something interesting sounding about that?" She folded her hands across the table calmly. "You know you can tell me."

Weiss put her head in her hands. She looked up at Winter helplessly after a moment. "It's just that… look, can we talk tomorrow. It isn't safe here." She looked around nervously to emphasize her point.

Winter sighed, and placed a hand on Weiss's. "Whatever you want," she said, and her face tightened. This time, the shadows did nothing to cover her intense gaze. "But you _will_ tell me." Weiss nodded. "Of course," she said, voice somewhat confident. Then she jumped in her seat slightly. "Oh!" She exclaimed, sounding abashed. "Can you get something for me? You have military connections, and well…. I'll explain why I need it later. You trust me, right?" She smiled apologetically. Winter's eyes narrowed. "What is it," she asked, suspicion evident in her tone.

It was seven o'clock at night. Team RWBY lounged in their room, preparing for the strike on the warehouse. Weiss had decided that actually letting Cinder help the prisoners escape was not worth keeping her cover. This would be the end of her short career as a double agent, as there was no way her cover wouldn't be blown.

The thought made her look down. It was sad, really. The spy work had made her feel like something else. And it was about to be over. She frowned.

Such thoughts were not welcome. This was the culmination of that work. There would be no mourning, she told herself as she pushed herself out of the chair she had been lounging in. The others looked up at her.

"Time? I thought we had an hour," Blake said, looking up from yet another book. Weiss didn't know what it was and at that moment, frankly didn't care. She shrugged.

"Not really. But I thought it would do us best to get in position early. Have time to prepare." Blake nodded, and returned to her book. Weiss walked over to the room's desk, where she picked up a large satchel. She picked it up, hefting it to feel it's weight. The leather strap pulled on her hand. She slipped the bag over her shoulder. She already knew the contents.

"What's in the bag?" Yang called from where she lay in bed, playing with her robot arm. "Got anything cool in there?" She shifted herself so she faced Weiss, head propped up on her real arm.

Weiss did not turn to face Yang. "Not really. Just giving this to a friend." She made to leave, pulling open the door when she heard Ruby shouting behind her. Sighing, she turned around.

"I didn't know that was your glass of water!" Ruby glared at Yang, hands gesturing wildly. "You shouldn't have put it there!" Weiss's gaze drifted to Yang, who lay on her bed with an upturned glass, water on her bed around her mechanical arm. Little sparks flew from the arm.

"Well, maybe you should be more careful - oh no," she said, turning suddenly to look at her new arm. Her face contorted with strain, then fell into a look of resignation.

"You broke it!" she yanked the arm with her human one, moving it a couple of inches. Ruby was watching, hand covering her mouth.

"It brakes if you get water on it? You'd think they make those things better," she said, then started laughing. She tried to stifle her laughter, in vain. Weiss noticed that Blake was on the verge of laughter as well. She cast her an agonized look.

Weiss's eyes turned to Ruby and Yang. Yang was talking rapidly and angrily to Ruby, who was laughing openly, having given up all attempt to cover it up.

"We should leave." Blake nodded, and placed her book on the nightstand next to where she sat, closing it and folding the tip of the page in one smooth motion. She stood up, walking quickly to where Weiss stood, and the two left the room. Neither of the quarreling sisters noticed them leave.

As soon as they were down the hallway, Blake stopped. She placed a hand on her hip, and pointed at Weiss's bag. "I know you," she said, and raised an eyebrow. "What's really in the bag." Weiss grinned sheepishly.

She lifted the flap, and displayed the contents for Blake to see. Her eyes widened slightly. She leaned down, poking the contents hesitantly. "Is this what I think it is?" Blake's voice dreaded the answer.

Weiss nodded, and closed the bag quickly. She moved closer to Blake. "Atlas military-grade explosives. But keep it quiet. I really shouldn't have them here." Blake smiled in disbelief. "How did you get your hands on those? Wait, don't tell me." Weiss chuckled.

"You do know me too well." The two began to walk again.

"Since you won't tell me who you got those from, why don't you tell me why you got them. What's the plan?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

Weiss smiled confidently. "I may not trust our team, but I trust you. We're going to the warehouse early. Why? To blow the supplies to smithereens before Ruby and Yang even know where the warehouse is."

Weiss stopped, cold air hitting her face in a wave. She smiled. Before her lay that old warehouse, inconspicuous against the other run-down buildings that surrounded the area. Blake's footsteps ground to halt next to where she stood.

She looked at Weiss with concern. "Why are we stopped?" Her voice was terse and businesslike. Weiss didn't bother to look at her, instead placing a hand on Myrtenaster's hilt.

"No reason. Just making sure we don't run into any kind of guards." As she said this, she scanned the area, eyes brushing over buildings and ground in turn. "Although I suspect they would be inside."

Blake rolled her shoulders. "Well, there's no one there. We may as well move in. It's not like we have forever." Without waiting for a response, she flipped up in the air off of the roof they were standing on, gun's ribbon trailing behind her as she gracefully turned in the air, then landed running on her feet. Weiss placed a glyph under her, triggering it so she catapulted towards Blake.

Weiss ran at Blake's side, the two a blur as they crashed through the side door that Weiss had saw on her last visit to the place. Weiss flipped to regain her balance, landing and drawing Myrtenaster on one smooth motion. Blade poised to strike in front of her, her head whipped back and forth, scanning the room for any kind of threats. Blake had stopped about a foot in front of her, and stood tensed.

After a moment, Weiss brought her blade down to her side. Blake relaxed, and twisted her head to Weiss. "Looks like there's no one here," she said, turning fully and walking towards where Weiss stood. "But I doubt that will last long. You said the meeting was at, what, ten o'clock, and we have about an hour till then. But Cinder will likely be here sooner." She turned away and began to walk towards a stack of crates near the two of them.

When she reached it, she tapped it softly, the noise echoing through the silent building. She cast a look at Weiss. "This some of the supplies?" Weiss frowned.

"I'm not entirely sure," she said, striding quickly over to where Blake stood. "Come to think of it, I'm not sure we can figure it out without looking in every box. And we don't have time for that."

"So what do we do?" Blake's voice was calm. Weiss looked down, and wrung her hands together for a moment, thinking intensely. Blake's bright orange eyes scanned the room as she did so.

After a moment, Weiss spoke up. "I guess we should just destroy everything. That should get rid of all the supplies in the process." Blake looked dubiously around the room.

"Do we have enough explosives for that?" Blake asked doubtfully, one hand on the hilt of her own weapon. Weiss sighed.

"Probably not. But what we can do is blow up the entire building," she said, a plan forming in her mind as she spoke. The words caught Blake's attention.

"Is that safe?" Her eyes bored into Weiss's, demanding a response from her. After a moment, Weiss shrugged.

"It should be. We just have to make sure to get out of here before I detonate the bombs." With that, she opened up the duffel bag. She talked to Blake as she did. "We have more than enough explosives for that. One per pillar should be enough. Can you count the pillars for me?" Blake turned around and started, rolling numbers off her tongue. As she did, Weiss started pulling out some charges. They were so small, for the power her sister had promised they wielded.

"There are seven," Blake said, and Weiss beckoned her over. Kneeling down, she placed seven charges on the ground in front of her. Blake raised an eyebrow. "How am I supposed to carry all that at once?" she asked sarcastically.

Weiss shook her head. "Don't," she said, then pushed herself off the ground. 'Take two or three at a time, and come back for more.

Blake nodded, then gestured at the bag. "What are you going to do with the rest of those?" she asked. Weiss responded without hesitation.

"I'm going to blow up the biggest clusters of crates. We can be extra sure we get most of the supplies that way." Blake nodded, then scooped a couple of explosives off the ground, turning on her heel and padding over to the nearest pillar.

"No point in delaying," she cast over her shoulder as she walked. Weiss nodded.

"Remember to prime the charges," she said, and Blake turned to her. "How do I do that?" she asked matter-of-factly, turning over an explosive in her hand as she spoke. Weiss pointed to a switch.

"Pull this, then press this button here," she said, holding a charge and demonstrating what she meant. "After you do that, I can detonate them at any time with the detonator." Blake nodded, then turned around and walked softly over to the nearest pillar.

Weiss sighed, then turned to the stack of crates next to where she stood. She pulled a charge out of her pocket and primed it, gently sliding it on top of crate about the height of Weiss. Frowning, she surveyed the crates. She wasn't entirely sure that one would be enough, so she pulled out a second, priming it as she walked around the stack to the other side. She put the charge down softly at the base of the stack.

As she straightened her back, her gaze swept across the room, taking in the sizes of various stacks of boxes and the crates themselves. She glanced down at the bag. Weiss had four charges left, and she didn't mean to waste any of them.

There was a big pile of crates in the very center of the warehouse. A huge light hung above the boxes, off, but Weiss could see the wires running along the ceiling from it. She figured she could ensure its destruction with three charges. Flipping an explosive idly in her hand, she padded over to it, squinting up and down the stack as she went for the best places to plant it.

As she looked, she thought she saw a flash of orange near the ceiling. Startled, she ran her eyes along the catwalk that crisscrossed the ceiling of the old building. She squinted against the darkness that shadowed everything not within a couple of feet, but saw nothing. She shrugged.

Weiss supposed she was getting paranoid. Shaking her head to herself, Weiss shoved an explosive in between the gap of two crates. They were about chest height. Weiss kneeled, and slid one under the whole pile. She looked over at Blake to check her progress.

No more explosives lay where Weiss had left them for Blake, who was walking towards the pillars in the back of the building, Gambol Shroud unsheathed and swinging at her side. Weiss turned back to her own task.

Grunting slightly with exertion, she tossed another explosive onto the top of the massive pile of boxes, then brushed off her sleeves. Glancing quickly into the bag, she confirmed there was one charge left.

She looked around the room. She figured that if she found a small stack and -

"Hello? You two miss us?" Rang out from the main entrance of the warehouse. Weiss turned angrily to see Yang, walking without a care in the world, into the building, Ruby close on her heels, scythe drawn and scanning the room.

Weiss glanced quickly to confirm Blake had placed her last charge. She had. Weiss breathed out a silent breath of relief that they would not have to risk telling Ruby and Yang what they were really doing. Even though it was inefficient, she took her last one and tossed it casually onto the crates behind her after priming it. Then she tossed the bag onto the boxes, too. There was no point in keeping it. Not when the detonator was snug in her pocket.

Weiss strode confidently over to where the two stood. Frowning, she placed a finger over Yang's mouth. "Shhh" she whispered urgently. "There could be people here at any moment," Weiss added, hand clenching into a fist at her side. Behind her, Blake had arrived, and looked similarly angry at Yang.

Yang shrugged, rolling her shoulders as her irrepressible smile broke through her face. "Sorry guys," she said in the same tone. The sound rolled through the warehouse, and Weiss flinched. Blake leaned forward, hostile, hissing "keep quiet!"

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Hey, it's not like I was too loud," she began, voice raised slightly, when the four of them heard a call from the other side of the warehouse.

"And who could possibly be here?" Cinder's voice rang out through the halls, slow and clearly laced with pleasure. Weiss, Ruby, and Blake all turned burning eyes to Yang. Weiss's fingernails dug into her palms.

"Look what you've done," she explained through slitted teeth, voice ablaze, before turning to face the back of the room. She made sure Myrtenaster was ready for use. "Since Yang gave us away, you may as well prepare for combat," she drawled to her teammates, voice sarcastic and bitter.

Yang let out an uncertain chuckle. "Forgive me?" She asked, eyes pleading. Her voice was now, belatedly, quiet. Weiss let out a frustrated sigh, and cast a glare in Yang's direction.

"No," she hissed coldly. "Maybe that'll help you learn next time. If there even is a next time," she added sadly as she turned to face forward. For a few dreadful heartbeats, the only noise the four heard was Cinder's footsteps echoing ominously around the room.

She slowly emerged from the dark corners of the building, fire alight in her eyes and in one of her hands. Her blood red dress swayed slightly in the wind as she stopped about a quarter of the warehouse away from them.

She tilted her head and smiled with mock sadness. "Oh, such a shame." She drew out the words with precision, making it clear she thought this was anything but. She waved a finger teasingly.

"And I had such high hopes for you, Weiss," she said, striding arrogantly over to the nearest stack of crates. Stopping, she snapped her fingers, the sound echoing through the building.

After a couple of seconds, White Fang members began to appear all around the four. They came out of side doors, jumped off the catwalk, and all manner of places. There must have been dozens of them, and they were all armed with guns. Not a single sword in sight, which, Weiss reasoned, was probably smart.

The team closed together, forming a circle back to back. Their footsteps merged with the clatter of the soldiers. The White Fang formed a large circle around them, each raising their weapon to their shoulders. Movement stopped. For a minute, a deadly silence engulfed the room, one that none dared break.

It was Ruby who spoke first. "What do you want," she called out, glancing nervously around the circle, hands constantly shifting on her weapon. Cinder laughed, a humorless sound that filled Weiss with dread. She felt herself beginning to sweat. Cinder climbed onto the boxes.

She sat back, crossing her legs lazily over one another. She stared at Ruby, then shifted her gaze to Weiss. "You could have been a good agent, Weiss. Could have won so much," she drawled, face morphing into a mask of false pity. "Remember what you told me? You wanted to join the winning side. I guess you're _nobility_ got in the way of that." She extinguished the fire in her palm, and let it drop to her side. Her gaze turned cold.

"But unfortunately for you, I have other agents. Ones with less… morals." she laced her fingers together, turning to face the ceiling and closing her eyes. Weiss felt a strange burning sensation at her neck.

Suddenly, there was a blast. Weiss and Blake spun around in shock to see Ruby on the ground, weapon a foot away from her. She had her hands in the air, pleading with her eyes. Yang towered over her, expression cold, eyes burning red, with hints of orange drifting around the pupils. Heartlessly, she brought her fist down, striking Ruby, who cried out pitifully,

Weiss's heart was in her throat. She had had no idea this would happen, and was frozen with shock. No such affliction claimed Blake, who, snarling, dove at Yang, who was raising her fist for another blow. Cinder had not stirred.

Gunfire erupted from a few points in the circle, knocking Blake onto her back. She scrambled to regain her footing, but not before Yang brought her weapon down a second time. Ruby's aura went, and blood started to stream from her nose. Her pleas started to get weaker, and the circle began to close in.

Galvanized into action, Weiss grabbed Blake by the arm. "We have to go," she whispered urgently. Without waiting for a response, she placed a glyph underneath the two of them, face twisted into a scowl, and launched them into the air towards the catwalk. Gunfire erupted behind them, and Weiss felt a bullet slam into her back. Her aura bore the blow. Ahead of them, a window shattered.

When they landed, Blake turned her angry face to Weiss. "We could save R-" she began, but Weiss cut her off. Her gaze stern, she said quickly, "There's no time. And besides, you saw what happened when you tried. Some of us have to get out." She winced as a bullet struck the railing next to her.

Blake nodded, casting Gambol shroud out, so it hooked around a bar above the broken window. "Grab on to me," she commanded Weiss, who did, placing a glyph behind them and quickly activating it, catapulting the two through the window, gunshots echoing behind them. As they did, the burning at Weiss's neck began to fade.

The two landed in a heap on a nearby building. Weiss gently extracted herself, then stood up and turned to watch the doorway. Blake rose to her feet behind her. She walked until she was close behind Weiss.

"What do we do now," she said tightly, disapproval clear in her voice. Evidently, she would have stayed and fought. But that would have resulted in their death. In response, Weiss pulled the detonator out of her coat. She brought it up for her teammate to see.

Blake's orange eyes widened. "But Ruby and Yang are still in there," she said, tilting her head in the direction of the warehouse. Weiss's eyebrows scrunched together.

"We wait for them to leave," she said, eyes intent on the doorway. "Then, we blow the place to smithereens. And," she added, raising a finger for emphasis, "Before you ask, they will use this entrance. Cinder will want to gloat." She leaned her weight on one hip.

After about a minute, Blake pointed. "There they are," she said simply. Weiss squinted in the direction she indicated. Sure enough, about five White Fang members were walking in front of the building, towards the road. Two flanked Cinder, another two Yang. The last carried Ruby's still form.

Blake shook her head sadly. "That didn't go too well," she said dryly. "They'll begin loading the supplies soon. At least Ruby's still alive. Probably." She turned to Weiss. "What are you going to do about it?"

Weiss's gaze hardened. "This," she said, and flipped open the safety on the detonator. One hand clenched at her side, she squeezed the button.


	12. Chapter 12

Weiss sat on the edge of her bed, feet swinging disjointedly off the side. She gazed emptily at the wall. Outside, dawn's rays had begun to seep through the window. In front of her, Blake paced back and forth across the small space, fists clenched at her sides.

Weiss sighed. "I hope you'll forgive me for last night, but there was no way we could save Ruby," she said matter-of-factly, absently inspecting the back of her hand. Blake stopped her pacing and turned her feline eyes to Weiss.

"You're right." She looked down. "It feels wrong to leave her behind, though. I don't think there was a right choice there." Weiss nodded, not really paying much attention. Her mind felt - empty. Not because she had lost two of her teammates, but because she was responsible for it.

Two of her teammates. Weiss wasn't sure she could call Yang that. She wasn't sure about much concerning Yang, really. Weiss had noticed both of them had avoided mentioning the blonde's name.

She sighed and slumped back. In about an hour, the school would be up and about. She would have to explain to Ozpin this whole mess. There was no way she could shoulder it on Blake. This was her fault.

And Qrow. Weiss fell back on her bed. She was dreading explaining anything to the two, but it would be necessary. Her eyes rolled over the ceiling. Then, she started. Her scroll was ringing, the sharp noise disrupting her half trance.

Groaning, she pushed herself off the bed and walked lethargically over to the desk where it lay. She blearily picked up the device, flipping it clumsily to see who the caller was. Her gaze sharpened suddenly. It looked like she didn't have an hour after all.

"Does last night have anything to do what I think it does?" Winter's voice over the phone was harsh and disciplinary. Weiss sighed, twisting her fingers together unconsciously.

"Yes, but I can explain." She sighed. "It's kind of a long story, though. Do you remember why you told me you were here?" Weiss's eyes were fixed on the floor.

"Yes, I said I was here to investigate an anomaly in the prisons," came Winter's response. "What does that have to do with anything?" Her voice was terse and impatient. Weiss pursed her lips.

"The holes were there to communicate with the prisoners. Inform them of a supply drop." Weiss spoke rapidly and intensely, dreading the moment when Winter asked why she had this knowledge in the first place. "The warehouse that was destroyed contained the supplies," she added, untwisting her fingers and lowering her hand to her side. "They were to be delivered tonight."

There was silence over the line. Weiss could almost feel Winter's thought process. Weiss glanced around their room, and saw Blake watching her intensely. After about a minute, Winter's voice rang over the scroll.

"Well, I don't believe you would lie to me about something like this, sister." Her tone was reluctant, and Weiss heard a small breath escape her sister. "But tell me," she said, and her voice turned harsh. "How did you get this information in the first place?"

Weiss pressed her nails into her palms. She licked her lips. "That's the long story, and I'd rather not tell it like this. My scroll's running out of charge anyway," she added, which was true. She had forgotten to take the time to charge it these past few days, with all that was going on.

Winter sighed more audibly than before. "All right. But I'm going to meet with you and talk today. Three o'clock. Make it happen." Winter's line clicked off without so much as a goodbye.

Weiss dropped her scroll on the desk, the sound of metal clattering on wood filling her ears, and looked at the sky. One more thing to do today.

"Who was that?" Weiss's gaze snapped to Blake, who sat looking curiously at Weiss. Her book was at her shook her head.

"My sister," she said sadly. "She had a few... Questions." Blake's eyes pinched slightly in sympathy.

"She military?" Blake asked, fiddling with her bow, and Weiss nodded slowly. Blake tilted her head at Weiss. "Is she who gave you the explosives?" Blake asked, tone calm as ever, and Weiss could only nod her head and look down, overwhelmed by the number of people she had dragged into her mess.

The elevator doors shuddered open, revealing the somber scene of Ozpin's office. Before Weiss, behind his desk sat Ozpin, fingers steepled in front of him. Qrow leaned back on a nearby pillar, a look of barely contained rage on his face.

Weiss looked down and trudged slowly to the seat that still sat in front of Ozpin's desk. This time, she made no effort to straighten her back, and evidently someone noticed it.

"No pride today, huh?" Qrow's voice was sarcastic. He leaned forward and took a sip of his beer. Messily, he wiped his lips with a tattered sleeve. "No good news for us, then?" His tone had shifted to mocking. "Because you'd think something good would have to happen for my _nieces to disappear!_ " Weiss merely pulled back the empty seat and sat down.

Ozpin cast a stern glance in Qrow's direction. "Calm down," he said, pushing back his glasses. "We don't know what happened yet." He brought his gaze slowly around to Weiss, meaning clear in the gesture. Weiss cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Do you want the good news first, or," and here she sighed, "the bad news?"She looked defeatedly up at Ozpin. Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"Let's hear the bad news. I suspect it might have something to do with Ruby and Yang." Tone accusatory, his glittering red eyes bore into Weiss. Weiss shook her head, and turned to face him angrily.

"Did I ask you?" Her voice was indignant, but Weiss knew she was in the wrong. Ozpin placed a hand on the table wearily. "Already," he muttered sadly to himself, and then addressed Weiss.

"Humor him, please." He looked reprimandingly at Weiss, who quickly adopted an apologetic expression. She nodded quickly to Ozpin.

"Of course," she said, then clasped her hands together in her lap. After a moment, she spoke. "So, as Ozpin likely heard about, we raided the warehouse where Cinder was keeping the supplies for the prisoners last night. Yang… Yang," Weiss stopped, and shook her head. She cleared her throat again, hands tightly gripping each other.

"Yang turned out to be a spy. Working for our enemy. Hard to believe, but true. Anyway, she attacked Ruby first. We tried to save her, but… it didn't work out. Blake and I barely escaped with our lives."

Qrow and Ozpin were staring at her. Qrow's mouth was slightly open, and he shook his head in disbelief. "So you're telling me my niece is dead… and the other a traitor, and this is _all your fault!_?" His voice had raised considerably in volume by the end of his sentence.

Weiss looked at her hands. "Yes. I'm sorry," she said softly, and Qrow raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He pushed himself off of his pillar and began walking towards Weiss.

"I can't believe you'd have the nerve to come here. I'm going to-" Ozpin cut him off angrily. He slammed the ground with his cane.

"Qrow!" He reprimanded, glaring at his old friend. "Control yourself. She did nothing wrong. Yang chose to betray us. She chose to attack Ruby. That has _nothing_ to do with Weiss." Qrow backed down, a dog submitting to it's alpha. He did not speak.

Ozpin turned back to Weiss, and his gaze turned serene. "Why don't you tell us the good news," he suggested, clearly wishing to change the topic, for which Weiss was grateful. She looked up, cracking her neck to one side, just to prove she still had confidence.

"The good news is we succeeded before Yang screwed everything up. I - Blake and I blew the warehouse to bits." She did not smile, and instead turned to Qrow. She placed a hand over her heart.

"I'm sorry for what happened to Ruby. If it's any consolation, she wasn't dead when I last saw her. I promise I will help you find her, whatever it takes."

Qrow's eye twitched. After a moment, he nodded. "I'll hold you to that." His expression did not change at all. Weiss nodded as confidently as she could muster.

"Absolutely."

Clamoring voices filled the air around her as Weiss stepped out into the crowded courtyard. On a day like this, when school was out, students would often meet or hang out in the area, and as such it was packed. Groups of students walked, sat, and joked with each other at various corners of the area. As Weiss walked, sounds of movement drowned out in the sea of voices, she waved absently to people she knew.

Gaze scanning the crowd constantly, Weiss found who she was looking for. Grinning slightly, she shouldered her way through the sea of people, pushing at least 3 students aside, towards where Blake sat on an old wooden bench, legs crossed in front of her, engrossed in a book.

Blake did not look up when she arrived, so Weiss walked around to her side and leaned over her shoulder. She smiled.

"What book is that?" she asked, lips next to Blake's ear. She jumped, and hurriedly covered the book with one arm. She glanced guiltily at Weiss, who's smile widened.

"Something you don't want to tell me?" She asked teasingly, then looked away. Her smile faded. "I'll respect your privacy, though." Blake nodded, and was already closing her book. She dropped it in a bag at her side with a soft thump. Weiss looked back at her. She nodded towards the crowd.

"Why are you here? If you're just reading, why not go somewhere more quiet?" She gestured at a nearby group of students with one hand. "I know I couldn't concentrate," she added. Blake looked up at her.

"I heard some rumors that…. Someone I know would be here today. I didn't believe it, but I had to see for myself." She turned her gaze to the crowd. Weiss looked at Blake's bag.

"If you're looking for someone, why bring a book? Won't you miss them?" She scrunched her brows together. Blake chuckled a little. She looked again at Weiss. "Trust me, he's _very_ hard to miss." Her gaze slowly drifted back to the crowd in front of the two of them. Weiss pulled out her scroll and started scrolling absently through her messages.

After about a minute, Weiss heard Blake gasp. She turned curiously to her friend, who had her eyes locked on a particular point in the crowd. Blake shook her head slowly, not moving her gaze an inch.

"I didn't think he'd be here," Blake said softly, pointing to a man in the crowd. "But there he is." Weiss turned to follow where Blake was pointing. A tall, broad-shouldered man was pushing his way through the crowd, muttering apologies to people around him. He was obviously unused to this kind of environment, from the awkward way he moved, but there was grace underlying his movements. He wore a black suit that looked uncomfortable for him, from the way he kept unconsciously adjusting the collar. His hair was a striking red, and at his belt was a long sheath for a blade. It was empty.

Blake stood suddenly from her seat. Looping her bag over one arm, she began striding quickly towards the man. Weiss hurried to catch up, grabbing Blake's shoulder. "Who is he? Why does it matter?" She asked breathlessly, eyes flicking between the two of them. Blake stopped, and turned to Weiss.

"Adam," she said simply, turning back and walking forward. "The leader of the White Fang and my former mentor," she cast over her back. Eyes widening slightly, Weiss traced Blake through the crowd.

The pair ended up behind Adam, who was talking to a student. Blake tapped him on the back, then crossed her arms over her chest. He whirled around, ignoring the "Hey!" coming from who he was just talking to.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I've ever seen you without the mask, Adam," she said, running her gaze over the tall man. "It suits you." Adam did not move.

"Good, you're here. I need to talk to you." His voice was hard and full of edges, and told Weiss everything she needed to know to immediately dislike the man. As if in response, he cast a distasteful glance at Weiss. "Alone," he added, voice full of implications.

Blake looped her arm through Weiss's. "Anything you have to say, we both can hear it. If you can't deal with that leave." Adam stood still for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay," he said, then looked slowly around the courtyard."Is there somewhere private we can talk?" Weiss looked askance at Blake.

"Can we trust him?" she whispered to her friend, and Blake nodded. "He's a man of honor, however dubious," she whispered back. Weiss turned her eyes to the man in question.

"If you'll come with me, I have a fairly good place."

Weiss and Blake sat on a bench in the corner Weiss was becoming quite familiar with. The noise of the courtyard had faded to a soft buzz behind them. In front of them paced Adam slowly. Blake watched him intensely, hands wringing in her lap. Weiss watched him rather curiously.

Blake gave a short breath. "What do you want, Adam?" The statement was impatient, outlined by the tightness in her face. Adam sighed, and stopped walking, back turned to the two of them. He sighed.

"Hard as it is to admit, I need your help." Weiss's eyebrow quirked up. Adam looked down. "Let me explain. My men and I do not work with Cinder willingly." He clenched a fist in front of him. "And I figure Schnee has an inside contact."

Weiss's eyebrow raised a little. "I'm a Schnee. The White Fang hates me more than any other. Why ask me, of all people?" She smiled, taking pleasure in the discomfort of one so obviously her enemy.

He turned to face them. His eyes burned with passion. "You can help me break the bonds that chain me to one of your kind," he said, tilting his head towards Weiss. "And you are the only one who can. You have a highly placed contact, something I need."

Weiss placed a hand over her heart. She recoiled in mock surprise. "Whatever makes you say that?" She asked, feigning confusion. If he was any smart, he would already know why.

"That last stunt was something you knew would blow your cover. Even though you _are_ human, any _competent_ agent wouldn't do that without a backup." Weiss smiled. She did so enjoy being right.

She made a cooing noise. "But isn't it awful to have to work with a human?" She smiled. He would have to do it, and hate every moment of it. Blake watched the two with barely withheld interest.

Adam sighed again. "Not for too long. And not directly. You tell me where she's hiding. We attack. My men are more loyal to me than her. We kill the rat, and then go our separate ways. Simple." He extended a hand, a grim mockery of a smile forming on his face. "Do we have a deal?"

Weiss smiled. Reaching from her seat, she shook his hand firmly. "Of course. I… look forward to seeing you in action." Her eyes danced. Adam had just offered her another way into the game. He nodded, then turned and left, footsteps echoing ominously off of the pavement.

After a moment, Blake turned to Weiss, concerned. "You don't seriously trust him, do you?" Her tone implied it would be foolish of her to do so. Weiss grinned at her.

"Of course not. But beating Cinder is more important than us to him," she said, turning her gaze to where he walked away. "So we use him until Cinder is dead, and then we betray him before he can kill us. We kill two birds with one stone."

Weiss stretched her arms, arching her back like a cat and yawing hugely. She had spent the past hour watching practice matches between third and fourth year students. She shifted slightly in her seat, uncomfortable. Her eyes drifted away from the fight before her. After a while, they all looked the same to her.

Her scroll pinged. Curious, she pulled it out of her pocket. She had a message, just one word. _Aspire_. Weiss smiled, and shook her head. Neo knew this was her number, but she supposed it never hurt to make sure.

Weiss glanced quickly around to make sure no one was looking at her, and, sure enough, almost everyone was engrossed in the fight, while those who were not talked quietly to friends. Weiss turned back to her scroll and entered her reply as quickly as she could. _Ascend. What is it?_

She stared at the device for the reply, and it was not long in coming. _Good afternoon, Weiss. Well done with the supplies yesterday, but Cinder has more flying in tonight. Just learned about it now. Hoping you could stop the ships bringing them._

Weiss looked around again, afraid of what would happen if she was caught. Satisfied no one was watching, her fingers flew across the tiny keyboard display. _I can get some help to bring it down. Need explosives though._ She leaned back and turned her eyes to the fight, although she wasn't watching. She was trying to figure out who she could convince to help her out.

 _Good luck. Pick them up at this address._ Weiss scanned the address carefully, committing it to memory, then deleted the message chain. It would do no good for someone to see that if they happened to be on her scroll.

She then called Blake, who answered on the second ring, punctual as always. Her voice was bored, and it sounded like she had not talked in awhile.

"What, Weiss?" Weiss made sure to keep her voice low, and leaned forward. She spoke quickly. "Have any plans tonight, Blake? Good. We need to raid another shipment of supplies to prevent that prison break from happening. Let's discuss the details in person."

Blake sounded annoyed. "Actually, I did have plans for tonight, but this is more important. I'll change them." Her voice faded away as she hung up.

The two girls looked quickly at each other. The moon cast its pale glow over Blake and Weiss, hiding on top of a building. Below them, White Fang unloaded crates from a hovercraft slowly. One stood off to the side, calling to his comrades. Cinder and Yang were nowhere in sight.

Blake jerked her head at the scene below them, lips twisted into a tight smile. "Shall we?" She asked, her voice hard and anticipatory. Weiss turned her eyes to survey it.

"I don't see why not," she said, counting silently as she spoke. "There are only… 6 of them. Why don't you take those three," she said, pointing to each and turn, "and I take the rest." She shook her head slightly. "For something important, this is very lightly guarded."

Blake shrugged. "That is to be expected. When I worked for them, they always said that stealth was the key to success, not a huge group full of loud transports." Her eyes never left her targets. With that, she flipped into the air, hair streaming behind her as she fell gracefully, landing feet first on the head of one of her targets. He fell without making a sound.

Smiling, Weiss jumped slightly into the air, then placed a glyph behind her, bringing Myrtenaster to bear in front of her. Smile twisting into a snarl, she launched herself at her nearest target, sword piercing through him. She rolled with the corpse several meters from the impact, then stood up, placing her foot over his chest and yanking her blade out.

She turned to face the next one. He had drawn his sword and was charging at Weiss, followed closely by one of his comrades. He swung his blade in an overhead arc at Weiss, who stepped to the side to avoid the blow. The man, expecting resistance to his strike, fell forward with the moment, and Weiss brought her blade up underneath him, knocking out his footing with a sweep of her legs and pushing his back down, impaling him on the blade.

Tilting Myrtenaster downward and pushing the corpse off, she placed a glyph behind her. Her gaze turned to the final member of the White Fang she had designated to herself as she catapulted herself towards him, not bothering to stab him, merely slamming her body into his, momentum sending the man flying.

Smiling, she cast her blade underhand at his figure falling a couple of feet away. It penetrated him with a satisfying thump. Weiss began to walk towards the fallen body, moving with long strides, and looked sidelong at Blake, who was raising herself from where she knelt by the corpse of her last White Fang. Weiss tilted her head to one side.

"Plant the charges, will you?" She did not break her step. "I'll stand watch." Blake nodded silently in her graceful manner, and stepped into the vehicle. Weiss, reassured, turned her gaze to the corpse of her fallen foe. She yanked her blade out of the corpse, blood spurting from the wound she had inflicted.

She thrust the blade into a belt she wore, promising herself to wipe off the blood the next chance she got. She was about to turn away, and then she blinked. There was an item peeking out of the man's pocket, and Weiss pulled it out curiously.

It was a notebook, bound in leather and only a little bit splattered in it's owner's blood. A sudden curiosity struck the girl about what the thoughts of a man insane such as this might contain. Opening the journal hesitantly, she flipped through the pages until she reached his latest entry.

 _Today was strange. The leader announced a new plan, said it would be the "end of the war, and the beginning of a new tomorrow. Personally, I think that the partnership with the humans is going to ruin us, but who am I to say?_

 _Anyway, they announced a new stage in their plans. Told us they had a method to 'live beyond death.' Bunch of crap, but some of the idiots in this foolish group actually believe most of the prattle they hand out. But they way they described it was… strange._

 _They began with an incantation about some sort of maidens. Then, a light appeared. A floating little green thing that kind of hovered. Most of the rank and file oohed and ahhed, but I believed it was clearly some kind of trick. Anyway, I should continue._

 _They asked for a volunteer. Said it was for something really important. Anyway, this small girl came up. Feisty little thing, I had friend who was in her battalion. Anyway, The woman in red grasped her heart. Girl screamed._

 _I admit, I was a little scared. Hand placed on my weapon and all that. But what shocked me was what was next. She fell to the ground, for all the world dead. The faunus, not the dirty human._

 _Then she announced she had a backup. If she were to die, she would come back as the girl, by transferring some of her aura to her. Said it would work anywhere with traces of her aura. Scared me to the bone._


End file.
